Are we having fun yet? The Sixers had a rock-solid victory on Wednesday night to carry an otherwise barren Philadelphia sports slate. Let’s talk some ball in my latest “5 Sixers thoughts” column…
Is Joel Embiid truly the most talented player Doc Rivers has ever coached?
Rivers, the Bucks’ head coach now after formerly holding that position in Philadelphia for several seasons, made this eyebrow-raising comment before Tuesday evening matchup with Milwaukee, per PhillyVoice’s Adam Aaronson:
Embiid’s talent is undeniable even as injuries have defined his career. Is Rivers’ statement true though?
The immediate thought would be that this is a subtle jab at Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP who won a championship with Milwaukee in 2021. Antetokounmpo has one foot out the door, so that may be a part of it, but is Embiid more talented than Antetokounmpo? How about Kevin Garnett or even Tracy McGrady or Grant Hill from Rivers’ previous stops on his coaching journey?
Let’s just look at Embiid, Antetokounmpo and Garnett. Even putting my Philadelphia bias aside for a brief moment, Embiid has done things, when he’s actually been on the court, that have been rarely, if ever, seen on an NBA court. His scoring prowess as a big man rivals that of Wilt Chamberlain. That’s not hyperbole.
Embiid’s health and lack of championship success, however, knock him down when discussing any all-time greats.
Embiid, given the injuries, has probably had the worst “career” of the three, all things considered. I view Antetokounmpo as a top-25 guy and Garnett is not too far beyond him. Let’s say he’s a top-35 or a top-40 player at worst. The general NBA public isn’t going to view Embiid that way unfortunately given the time he’s missed and the way rings are valued.
Speaking of Antetokounmpo…
A report from ESPN’s Shams Charania surfaced late Wednesday morning about Antetokounmpo, indicating that he is “ready for a new home” ahead of the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline:
There has been chatter among fans and talking heads whether the Sixers could get in the mix for Antetokounmpo, who is under contract for next season and then has a player option after that. A trade between the Sixers and Bucks centered around Antetokounmpo would need to begin with parting ways with rookie VJ Edgecombe. I wrote just last week that dealing out Edgecombe would be a non-starter for me.
Will Edgecombe ever be as good of a player as Antetokounmpo has been? Given what I’ve already said about him in this column, clearly not. Given age, contracts and the trajectory of this Sixers team, however, it just does not feel like the right move for this franchise right now.
I’m just hoping he winds up in Golden State rather than New York at least.
25 years ago today…
On Jan. 28, 2001, the Sixers traveled to Indiana to face the Pacers. In a win that improved the team’s record to 34-10, Allen Iverson had 27 points to go with eight assists. It was a rough shooting day from the field for Iverson, who went just 6-for-25, but he lived at the line, sinking 14 of his 17 free-throw attempts.
The Sixers would go on to face Indiana in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs that year, taking care of business in four games in the best-of-five series on the way to an NBA Finals berth.
Jared McCain displays signs of life
Dropping 16 points and nailing four threes in mega-garbage time during a brutal loss in Charlotte on Monday afternoon, McCain looked like an NBA player again. Seemingly nailed to the bench sometimes by Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, McCain, at least briefly, resembled the player he was during his brief, but red-hot rookie campaign.
McCain had the goods again in Tuesday night’s victory over Milwaukee as well, totaling 17 points while drilling five of his six shots from deep. That type of scoring punch and sweet shooting from a reserve has been sorely missed, especially with Quentin Grimes’ long-standing frigid stretch.
The Sixers went from having too many intriguing pieces in the backcourt to seemingly having too few while McCain was struggling. McCain needs to be a legitimate part of Nurse’s rotation.
Sixers tickets are dirt cheap right now
I understand it from multiple perspectives. Weeknights are tough to begin with. People aren’t fully sold on this team after years of second-round exits. The current weather situation looms large over everything as well with snow piled up throughout the city and another storm potentially coming this week, making commuting a bit of a hazard.
Still, if public transportation’s easily accessible for you, which is obviously not always the case in this region, you can see the Sixers host the Kings on Thursday for as low as $9 on the secondary market. There are worse ways to spend a cold, dark winter evening!
