Are the 76ers, the NBA’s choice?

With the news of the NBA regular season schedule being announced it’s clear the NBA is finally behind the “Process”

The Sixers are featured prominently in two marquee games on the NBA calander. Starting with the opening game on Christmas Day at noon Eastern against the New York Knicks. 

The next game which the Sixers are one of the main attractions is against the Boston Celtics, January 11th in London, England. 

This is major news for the league and the Sixers. Many have thought for years the “association” has been rigged, well, this would tend to be leaning in the Sixers favor. You aren’t going to spend all the marketing money to put a young, unproven team in two key spots on the calander unless you expect big things from them. I’m not saying this means the Sixers are in the Finals next year, but it’s a huge step. 

Just a few years ago one would have thought Commissioner Adam Silver wasn’t 100 percent behind the whole process, and you couldn’t blame him. It’s telling teams that tanking for a few seasons is the only way to get better without overspending in free agency. 

It can easily be said now that the Sixers are in two key games this season that the Commissioner has turned the page. There has to be some side of him hoping this doesn’t pan out. 

The great side on the business end of all of this publicity for the Sixers is the season ticket sales, they have been the highest ever. There is one downside to that however; some fans have seen prices skyrocket, not everyone can afford those prices. 

This schedule should be a huge step in the right direction, now the Sixers need to stay healthy and win some games. 

Top Seven 76ers of all-time

When you are in the tail end of the NBA off season the news cycle definitely begins to slow down, with that there is no better time to put out these arbitrary lists you can argue forever. 

With that said here are my thoughts on the top seven Philadelphia 76ers of all time, starting with number seven.

7) Billy “Kangaroo Kid” Cunningham makes this list partially due to his playing career and partially because he’s arguable the best coach in 76ers history. 

As a player Cunningham 21.2 points and 10.4 rebounds in 11 seasons in the ABA/NBA. After his playing days were over in 1976 he became the coach where he was the fastest coach to 200 and 300 victories and led the 76ers to the 1983 NBA Title. 

6) Hal Greer was the point guard and emotional leader of the 1967 NBA Champion 76ers, during the regular season he averages 22.1 points and picked it up in the playoffs and averaged 27.7 points. 

Through his career Greer was selected to 10 straight all-star games, an incredible achievement. 

5) Charles Barkley- Chuck or as many called him in his early days “The round mound of rebound” Charles Barkley started out his career in Philadelphia and was a gritty fan favorite who once famously (or infamously) said “I’m not a role model”

On the court Barkley was a force in his eight seasons in Philadelphia, he made six straight all-star appearances and appeared in the NBA Finals playing for the Phoenix Suns once he was traded. 

Barkley is now more known for his no fear attitude and comments while working for TNT. 

Many say Barkley holds the title of “Best player to not win a championship”, one thing is for sure, if he had won a title in Philadelphia he might be higher on this list. 

4) Moses Malone- The last 76ers NBA Championship was on the broad shoulders of this man, Moses Malone. 

He was the 1983 NBA MVP and led the 76ers to the championship. He did only play in Philadelphia for four seasons or he may be ranked higher. 

However; in his four seasons he was a four-time all-star and brought the City of Brotherly Love a title, he’s always a legend here. 

3) Allen Iverson- Allen Iverson is the definition of the underdog, fighting champion which encompasses the city of Philadelphia. 

He has grit, determination and fight. He took what many would consider a band of misfits in the 2001 season all the way to the NBA finals and famously one game one with a clinching three-point shot and stepped over now Cleveland Cavs coach to define his point. 

Iverson never did win a title and had many battles with the commissioner, the media, his coach and others. 

Allen Iverson is the reason I’m a Sixers fan, is he perfect, no way, but he fights every day, just like the City of Philadelphia. 

2) Wilt Chamberlin- It’s hard to put Wilt number two on any list however; he did only have three full seasons with the 76ers. 

In those three seasons he did win the NBA MVP all three seasons. There was one season with the Philadelphia Warriors where he famously averaged 50 points and had the famous 100 point game in Hershey, PA. 

Wilt also led the 1967 Sixers to a the record 68 wind and averaged 27.3 points, 24.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists for his entire career. 

Wilt would have easily been number one if it wasn’t for this iconic Philadelphia and NBA great…

1) Dr J (Julius Erving)- Dr J is the one person you think of when you say Philadelphia 76ers. Dr J many say invented the art of the slam dunk and he was a very versatile player. 

He played 11 seasons with the 76ers and was an all-star all 11 years and a seven-time all-NBA selection and also won the 1981 NBA MVP award. For his career he averaged 24.6 points, 8 rebounds and 4.4 assists. 

The idea of this list is to point out the rich history of this truly historic franchise. The 76ers have had some down years recently as we’ve all had to learn to “Trust the Process” We all just hope the current players understand how much this team means to Philadelphia and can bring an NBA Championship back to Philadelphia. 

Does Cavs Drama Mean Anything for Sixers?

By now it seems everyone has heard Kyrie Irving has requested a trade out of Cleveland because he’s tired of being in LeBron James shadow. 

It was Irving who hit the game winning three-point shot to bring Cleveland the 2015-2016 NBA Championship and make James the hometown hero. 

It seems like Irving has had enough. He is asking to be traded and although at first glance it doesn’t look like this would have anything to do with the Sixers we should look closer. 

If Irving is traded out of Cleveland; no matter who he goes to Cleveland most likely isn’t the best team in the East anymore. One could argue Boston would be the favorite if Irving is gone. Either way; if Cleveland did come out of the East there is no way they would beat whoever comes out of the West. 

So you are probably thinking, how do the Sixers fit into this equation? Well, James will be a free agent at the end of next season. Ok, but what makes me think there is any chance he would come to Philadelphia? Well, he is good friends with Ben Simmons, he even reached out when Simmons turned 21: 

Maybe they have bonded over Shirley temples? James has also been fond recently of JJ Redick and this tweet proves it:

Now maybe he just likes the name, maybe he’s leaving subtle hits towards next summer. Now this is a long shot but you have to admit, he does look good in the uniform: 

Now call me crazy but I’m not the biggest fan of this move for the Sixers, would it help, obviously. But for those of us who bought into the “Process” this doesn’t seem like the move. I like the team led by Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. Bringing in King James cheapens this whole expierience, stick with your young guns and take out the king on your terms. 

Hasta Luego Sergio

Sixers Point Guard Sergio Rodriguez won’t be back on South Broad Street next season as he signed a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the Europe League. 

Rodriguez appeared in 68 games for the Sixers last season (30 starts) and averaged 7.8 points and 5.1 assists per game. 

With the number one overall pick drafting point guard Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons coming back and TJ McConnell under contract there simply wasn’t room for the 31 year-old point guard. 

His time in Philadelphia may best be remembered for helping former Europe player Dario Saric make the transition from Europe to the United States. 

Thanks for the time Sergio, we will always remember the beard. 

Sixers Summer League Finale Ends in Defeat

The purpose of the NBA Summer League definitely isn’t the final score; although the “Process” has also taken this strategy to the regular season. 

The Sixers ended the Summer League with a 99-82 defeat to the Chicago Bulls to end the league with an 8-2 record. 

There are some positives to take from this though. Even though number one overall pick Markelle Fultz did hurt his ankle it’s not serious and he’ll be fine for the start of training camp. 

When Fultz was on the floor (not in pain) he was somewhat impressive. He showed the ability to shoot the ball which has been the Achilles heel of the Sixers. 

He also seemed to have a good feel for the flow of the game and can definitely dish the rock. What he will need to work on is finishing at the rim. There were many and one opportunities missed out on. This was something he struggled with in high school and college as well so fixing that overnight won’t be an easy fix. 

Fultz was the headliner however; there are intriguing stories to follow and see what happens with them. There is the second round pick Jonah Bolden, he showed signs of being an NBA player but did struggle in the Las Vegas league. 

Many had said his performance could mean the end of Jahlil Okafor in Philadelphia, unless I’m mistaken Okafor has been rumored to be a part of every Sixers trade for at least two years, at this point I’ll believe it when I see it. 

The other really good bright spot was the emergence of Furkan Korkmaz. He missed the Utah League because he didn’t have a contract done, however; in the Las Vegas league in five games he averaged 14.2 PPG. He may be a player to take advantage of the new rules where players can go back and forth to the G-League. 

Normally a 2-6 record is nothing to get excited about, when you are the Sixers and can go through eight games with no major injuries it’s a huge win. 

The NBA regular season is set to begin in mid-October and hopefully the “Process” will finally turn into wins. 

2017-2018 Eastern Conference Predictions

Like everyone once a post season and free agency season ends it’s always nice to take a look forward and see what the future holds. 

With some of the major trades from the East Coast going West (Jimmy Butler and Paul George) there are a few spots left for newcomers in tbe Eastern Conference. 

Here are my predictions from the 8th seed to the number 1 seed. 

8) Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets were a playoff team two years ago however; they did fall to the 11 seed last season. In this offseason they were serious and went after a big time center and brought in veteran Dwight Howard to anchor the defense, they also signed former Sixers Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to be a backup to Kemba Walker. 

Charlotte also may have gotten the steal of the draft in Malik Monk from Kentucky. The Hornets will be much improved and should see themselves in the playoffs again. 

7) Miami Heat

The Miami Heat finished the 2016-2017 campaign as one of the hottest teams in the league, in the first half they were one of the worst, all in all they finished 41-41 and tied for the last playoff spot. 

It will be tough to tell which Miami teams shows up, if it’s the second half which had a 30-11 record they will be among the best in the league, if it’s the 11-30 team they will be high in the lottery. I think they’ll be in the middle and land in the 7th spot in the East. 

The Heat did miss out on the Gordon Hayward sweepsteaks and ended up re-signing Dion Waiters to a 52 million dollar extension. 

The team also added Kelly Olynyk from Boston. 

6) Philadelphia 76ers

Will this finally be the year we can see the results of the “Process”, I think so. 

The Sixers have a ton of talent, with Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz as number one picks, Joel Embiid and potentially the best center in the game, Dario Saric coming into his own and the free agent signing of JJ Redick this team could be a team to be recommend with. 

Or everyone could end up injured again and the lottery process begins again. If everyone stays healthy this is a very young team, some would say much higher than the six seed. I’d like to put brakes on that, realistic expectations Philadelphia. 

5) Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors may start seeing the decline in years. Demar Derozan is still a very good player, they finished tied for the second seed and ended up in third last year however; they looked old against Milwaukee but did win 4-2, but then got sweeped by Cleveland. 

The Raptors did lost Demarre Carroll in a salary dump trade and had to overpay to keep Kyle Lowry. 

This team is too good to fall that far but the season after this could see the Raptors in re-build mode. 

4) Washington Wizards

With John Wall and Bradley Beal this team should be really good, they have been consistent for years but can’t get past the hump. If they were to matchup with Toronto in the first round of the playoffs they would win easily, getting past that might be the problem. 

3) Milwaukee Bucks

This team has the ability to be scary good. I think it’s easy to say behind LeBron James Giannas Antetokuonmpo is the best player in the East. 

The Bucks gave a veteran Toronto team all they could handle in the first round this past season and they show no signs of slowing down. If this first two teams weren’t really good I think you could easily move the Bucks higher up the ladder. 

Along with Jabari Parker and this past seasons Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon this team is going to be good for a long time. 

2) Boston Celtics

The Celtics shocked the world and were the number one seed in the East last season and they got the number three overall pick in the draft taking Jayson Tatum from Duke. The Celtics also added the best free agent to come East in Gordon Hayward. 

Time will tell if the Celtics can keep up last years pace, they are a very good young team who still has good draft picks coming up. 

1) Cleveland Cavaliers 

As long as LeBron plays and is healthy the Cans should be the best team in the East. 

They haven’t added anything as of yet however; they are far and away the best the East has to offer. 

Time will be ticking on this team, the clock just won’t run out for the 2017-2018 campaign. 

First Round Predictions

Cleveland over Charlotte 4-0

Boston over Miami 4-2

Milwaukee over Philadelphia 4-2

Washington over Toronto 4-1

Second Round Predictions 

Cleveland over Washington 4-0

Milwaukee over Boston 4-3

Eastern Finals

Cleveland over Milwaukee 4-2

Down goes Fultz…

As Philadelphia 76ers fans we should be used to this by now…

Midway through the third quarter of the Sixers Summer League action against the Golden State Warriors the number one overall pick Markelle Fultz is on the ground in excruciating pain. 

This has been the one issue with the “Process” The Sixers have had difficulties getting the first round draft picks to even see the court in the last five years. The only first pick rookie to see action in his first year was Jahlil Okafor and he only played 53 games. Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons all missed there entire rookie campaigns. 

Now this injury for Fultz doesn’t seem to be all that serious, it’s an ankle sprain, I’d expect him to be shut down for Summer League games however; the key objective is to have him ready for October and pictures like this need to stay out of South Philadelphia: 

The concern was also felt from the Sixers resident social media director Joel Embiid who has never seen a tweet he doesn’t like (should he run for President?) 

In a much less important part of the story the Sixers did top the Golden State Warriors 95-93 led by newcomer Furkan Korakmaz who had 15 points on just 5-9 shooting. 

Fultz was struggling before he left the game having just eight points on 3-12 shooting in 15 minutes of action. 

The Sixers take the court again tonight in Las Vegas taking on the San Antonio Spurs at 10:30pm, the game is televised on ESPN2. 

Sixers wrap up Utah League

The Philadelphia 76ers finished the three-game Utah Summer League with a record of 1-2, maybe not the result we were looking for however; the record doesn’t really matter. 

On Wednesday night the Sixers took on the home team Utah Jazz and through most of the game were getting demolished. Partway through the third quarter the Sixers were down by 26, then came the number one overall pick Markelle Fultz. 

Fultz was on fire in the fourth quarter dumping in 13 of his team high 23 points. He got the Sixers to within one possession however; it wasn’t enough as the Jazz held on for a 100-94 victory to improve there Summer League record to 2-0, and drop the Sixers to 0-2. 

The Jazz were led by guard Dante Exum who finished with an impressive 26 points 10 assists and 5 rebounds. 

The very next night the Sixers wrapped up the Utah league with a matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. Now Fultz was held out of this one. It blows my mind that 19 year olds can’t play three games in a week and need rest but that’s a story for another day. 

Without Fultz in the lineup the Sixers had a very well balanced lineup and finished on a 14-0 run to beat the Spurs 94-86. 

The Sixers were led by a trio, Isiah Miles had 18 points and 7 reb, Jonah Bolden 16 points and 8 rebounds and Brandon Austin 15 points and 4 rebounds. 

The Sixers now move on to the Las Vegas league where they will have three games in four nights starting tonight versus Golden State, tomorrow versus San Antonio and Tuesday versus Boston. Time will tell if Fultz plays in all three, if he doesn’t the Sixers will get a better look at some of the other players fighting for their NBA lives. 

Sixers drop Summer League opener

The suspense was there… at least what could be for an NBA Summer League opener. 

It was the debut of the number one overall selection in the NBA Draft, Markelle Fultz on one end, and the number three overall pick Jayson Tatum on the other. In the end it was last years number three overall pick, Jaylen Brown who stole the show. 

Brown led all players with 29 points on 10-16 shooting however; it was Tatum who drilled the game winning jumper with 5.7 seconds on the clock. 

Fultz for the ball for the Sixers on the alternate possession and made a nice move to the hole but his shot was blocked by Brown and the Celtics won the opener 89-88. 

Fultz did look solid in his first NBA action finishing with 17 points but was only 6-16 shooting, two rebounds, two steals only one assist but three blocks. He seemed poised but shot selection will have to improve. 

Another disappointment for the Sixers was Timothe Luwalu-Cabarott who finished with 16 points but was 1-9 from three, I’d say stop shooting! He did have seven rebounds and five assists though. 

As a team the Sixers were 10-32 from three, these are only 10 minute quarters so that seems quite excessive. Time will tell if this trend continues. 

The real story here is this was Fultz debut and here is what he had to say to reporters after the game. 

“I know what I have to do now”- Markelle Fultz said being happy to get first game under his belt

The Sixers return to action on Wednesday night at 9:00 pm EST when they will take on the Utah Jazz. 

Sixers get much needed sharpshooter

The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t waste anytime this free agency season in getting the biggest need for this young team.

On the first day of free agency the Sixers have inked JJ Redick, formally of the LA Clippers. Redick tweeted this out earlier this afternoon:

https://twitter.com/JJRedick/status/881242874263851008

The news was then confirmed by ESPN’s Adrain Wojnarowski that the deal is one year and 23 million dollars

For his career Redick has been a 41 percent three point shooter, and 44 percent over the last four years with the Clippers. For reference the Sixers were 23rd in the league shooting 34 percent last season.

Even with paying Redick 23 million next year the Sixers still are under be salary cap by 26 million with 14 players on the roster. There is still room for another big move if wanted.

It looks like the Sixers as of this moment will have a starting lineup which looks like this:

PG-Fultz

SG-Redick

SF-Simmons

PF-Saric

C-Embiid

That looks pretty solid any way you look at it. The Sixers will still need to have more depth and veteran leadership on the bench to be considered contenders in the East but this is a great start.