Beneath the mental fragility that led to the Sixers’ humiliating playoff exit is a gutless, joyless organization that is betraying their devoted fans. Only a scorched-earth rebuild will doSixers fans, answer me this: are you better off today than you were 10 years ago? It’s the same question posed by out-party politicians since time immemorial, but Sunday’s spectacular face-plant against the Boston Celtics that prompted Tuesday’s sacking of head coach Doc Rivers demands a far more wholesale inquest of Philadelphia’s once-proud basketball team. And the picture is not a pleasant one.With a three-games-to-two lead over their archrivals in the Eastern Conference semi-finals – needing one win from two cracks for the team’s first trip to the NBA’s final four in...
The center’s season should go down as a validation of The Process, a breakthrough made sweeter by the Sixers remaining undefeated through the first two rounds of the NBA playoffsFor a good chunk of the 2010s it was an open question in the NBA as to whether Joel Embiid, who was crowned the league’s Most Valuable Player this week, was even worth the bother. For a solid three years the Philadelphia 76ers tempted fate while aggressively trying to lose games just to put themselves in position to land the freshman center with the third pick in the 2014 draft, effectively reinventing the practice now known as tanking. And when the Kansas product went on to miss his first two seasons...
The Philadelphia 76ers have moved up to pick first in this week’s draft. But sports teams are often blinded by the prestige of a No1 selectionEngland World Cup teams, New Year’s Eve parties and DC Comics movies. The list of massively hyped things that almost always disappoint probably starts with those three. But right behind them on the list has to be No1 overall draft picks. Having that No1 overall draft spot is the goal of every fan whose team falls far short of the actual goal of winning a championship. It’s where franchise saviors and generational talents are supposed to be found. The NBA even promotes its annual draft lottery order reveal as a major, live television event, complete...
The New Orleans Pelicans took a step forward, the Sacramento Kings took a step back, the LA Lakers hit the reset button – and the Boston Celtics went nowhereHeading into NBA trade deadline day, there was a very real fear that the biggest move of the year had already been made. But while nothing was likely to top the New Orleans Pelicans’ deal for DeMarcus Cousins, there was still plenty of talk that either the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler or the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George could find their way to a contender before the 3pm ET deadline. Related: NBA trade deadline day: Mavericks get Noel from 76ers – as it happened ⌚️ Continue reading...
After three years of losing on purpose to stockpile young talent, the surging Sixers’ controversial strategy is finally yielding on-court dividendsThe Philadelphia 76ers won for the seventh time in nine games on Wednesday with a 94-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors, limiting the Eastern Conference’s highest-scoring team to more than 20 points below their season average. The club’s emerging franchise player, the 7ft 2in wunderkind Joel Embiid, finished with 26 points in 26 minutes, including a crucial last-minute blocked shot and a pair of free throws to ice the game. It was a gut-check win over an opponent who’d had their number in 14 straight meetings. “I don’t think it’s a fluke,” said Embiid, Philadelphia’s talismanic first-year center. “We’re competing....