Sixers Head Into the All-Star Break with Momentum

Posted on by jcrosby1315

The 76ers played their way to the top seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star Break. The Sixers are 24-12 going into the break and have a half-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets for the first seed in the East. The Sixers ended the first half of the season with wins over the Pacers and West-leading Jazz. They had a stinker against the Cavs sandwiched in between the dominant Mavs and Pacers wins. Here are some thoughts/observations going into the All-Star break:

  • There was an earlier season narrative about LeBron James and Nikola Jokic being the front runners for MVP, but that narrative should be long gone. JOEL HANS EMBIID IS THE NBA MVP. There should not be any rebuttals about that. It’s plain and simple. Look at what he did against the Jazz including his unbelievable three to push the game to OT.
  • The Sixers laid an egg against the Cleveland Cavs last Saturday night. Although it was a disappointing lost, it showed me three things. 1. The Sixers still have a mentality to play down to competition which can lead to games like that. 2. It exposed that the Sixers need more shot creation on the team. When the bench stinks and there is no Tobias Harris, it leaves Embiid and Simmons out to dry. 3. If there was some type of crowd, I think it would have given the Sixers some juice to win that game.
  • Speaking of crowds, the Wells Fargo Center will allow 3,100 fans back for Sixers games beginning March 14th against the San Antonio Spurs. I know COVID-19 is a real thing and safety should continue to be priority, but this will help the team tremendously. The best fans and home court will be back. The players who haven’t experienced having the home crowd behind them are in for an experience.
  • Although our two All-Stars are heading to Atlanta and the rest of the squad will be getting a much-needed break, the front office and coaching staff will be hard at work trying to make tweaks to this roster. I believe Daryl Morey will make a move or combination of moves to put this team in a place where they can have a legitimate chance at beating the Brooklyn Nets.
  • The bench has been an issue for this team all season, but in the last two games they have showed up when it was needed. The bench scored 67 points in the win vs. Indiana and turned the game around in the late third/early fourth against the Jazz. Dwight Howard had a great sequence that helped get some momentum and juice on the team’s side.
  • Danny Green, if you are reading this, please just shoot the ball. Don’t pump fake, don’t dribble, don’t even pass. Seems like every time he doesn’t shoot, he ends up doing something dumb like turning the ball over or dribbling into three defenders.
  • Ben Simmons is ranked #1 in the DPOY ranking by NBA.com and it should stay that way.
  • The Sixers’ second half schedule includes games against the Nets (1), Bucks (3), Clippers (2), and Lakers (1). They have some brutal stretches of 5 games in 7 nights so I believe there will be some load management.
  • I would like to see the Sixers wear their Black City uniforms more, they grew on me! I’m also tired of them wearing the Red Statement uniforms.
  • Seth Curry, please shoot more 3 pointers please!
  • Mike Scott might be back from the dead!
  • If Embiid gets All-Star game MVP, its going to feel a lot like 2001!

The Sixers will pick up with back-to-back action next Thursday and Friday against the Bulls and Wiz on the road. We will see you then.

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