Now that the Harden-Simmons trade actually happened and Harden made a fantastic 76ers debut last night, I can not wait until March 10th. Will Ben Simmons actually play in Philly or will he still be dealing with "mental issues"? I think it would be a big mistake on Ben's part if he does not play. I feel a lot of his teammates will lose respect for him. Everyone knows that he is capable of playing. Just like when he refused to dunk against the Hawks in last year's playoffs it will be him cowering in a big moment in my humble opinion. Even if he were to have a bad game.....just standing up to the Philly crowd would be a win for him. He will eventually have to play there anyway...why not have some courage and show your new teammates (and former ones now with the Nets like Seth Curry) that you have changed? It will be really disappointing if he opts to not only not play but not even make the trip. I really want him to play. It would make for an awesome emotional sporting event. I'm Sixers fan who has not completely loved the team over the past few years despite them being quite good. The main reason is that I found them unlikeable. Not because I was against the "process" or anything like that, I just didn't like their stars. Simmons was the main one. His refusal to not work on free throws or outside shooting with the 76ers but instead use his brother as a coach was incredibly frustrating. It's really odd to me that someone who plays defense so well and physical is "soft". I also was not a fan of Embiid. I thought he wouldn't come into camp in shape and in big moments down the stretch would wear down and cry to the officials instead of just being physical. He changed all of that this season. He's in great shape and aggressive. With his change, Ben being gone, and young likable players like Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle (one of the best defensive players I've ever seen), I'm suddenly in love with the Sixers again. I've never been a big Harden fan because I've been turned off by the way he wants out of teams and just seems to have an odd personality. I completely love what he showed he can bring last night though. The floor spacing he created with Embiid on the court at the same time was excellent. He made 5 3-pointers but my favorite part of what he did was the 12 assists. Most of that was due to him knowing who would be open and where. He hasn't even adjusted to the his new teammates yet. While defenses will adjust as they have more tape on him with the Sixers, he will be adjusting with his new squad as well. It's going to be fun to watch. Simmons lack of wanting to shoot the ball is not nearly as important with the Nets as it was with the Sixers. He much more made for that team than his former. When the Nets have all of their stars available he will not need to score. When Durant and Irving are back and playing full time Simmons seems to be an almost perfect compliment to their games. There is a lot of disagreement about which team is better between the two when fully healthy after this trade, as there should be, but this is now going to be a serious emotional and fun rivalry to watch. (after typing all of that with my new found Sixers excitement I expect them to lose by double digits to TJ's lowly Knicks tomorrow)
Round 1 was only fun for the Nets. The Sixers players were awful for the most part but a ton of blame is with Doc Rivers. No apparent game plan going in except to pass to Embiid. He didn’t make any adjustments when things went awry early. Only good thing was that I was able to go to bed at halftime.
Nets landed the seven seed, which means they'll have to get through Boston, Milwaukee, and in my mind, Dawk's Sixers to get to the NBA Finals. Tough route if ya' ask me. Pressure's on Durant. Speaking of Durant, he's my latest take on him and the challenge that lay in front of him, if you're so inclined. Something happened on the way to Brooklyn: Kevin Durant’s Continued, Yet Stifled, Quest for Greatness - Sports Chump
