The 76ers faced off against the Trailblazers Sunday night in Orlando. The game tipped off with Al Horford starting in the place of Ben Simmons for the second game in a row. If you are a fan, you wondered how the Sixers would play after learning that Ben Simmons is now out indefinitely, needing surgery to remove a “floating body” from his injured left knee.
The Sixers started the first quarter 0-5 from the field and down 6-0 early. The first quarter got worst when Embiid seemed to tweak his left ankle. He tried to go a few possessions, but he was favoring and asked out of the game. The entire city of Philadelphia held their breath as Joel went back to the locker room. After Joel exited the game, the Blazers went on a 13-2 run to go up 21-9. Damian Lillard controlled the entire first quarter, getting to any spot he wanted on the court. The Sixers were down 33-19 after one. Side note: Brett Brown actually had a lineup of Norvelle Pelle, Glenn Robinson II, Alec Burks, Matisse Thybulle, and Furkan Korkmaz to end the quarter. Who would have EVER thought we would see that lineup in a competitive game?
In the early portion of the second quarter, the Sixers were down by as many as 17 and it seemed like they were going to pack it in. After an early timeout, the Sixers came out and rode Josh Richardson’s hot hand to cut the lead to 7. Josh was seemingly hitting every shot he missed through the first four games in the bubble.
The Blue and White came out of the locker room to start the second half aggressively. Al Horford, who was plagued by foul trouble, and Josh Richardson help cut into the lead. With Horford in foul trouble and Norvelle Pelle fouling every player in sight, Brett Brown went to Mike Scott at center for a small ball look. It worked by pulling Portland’s big men out of the paint. The team fought hard quarter with the team outscoring the Blazers by 10 in the period. The Sixers fought all the way back to lead 92-91 after the third period. The quarter poetically ended with Josh Richardson hitting a sweet mid-range jumper to give them that one-point lead.
Alec Burks replaced Shake Milton early in the fourth quarter and went to work. He hit 3-pointers, driving layups and even went to work in the post. Sixers built a lead as large as six points, but Damian Lillard proved why he’s so great. He put the team on his back and personally helped bring his team back from their fourth quarter deficit. With Tobias shooting 7-19 and not really effective offensively, Josh Richardson and Alec Burks couldn’t match Lillard. Damian Lillard went for 51 points as they edged the Sixers 124-121. The Sixers were paced by Josh Richardson, who had a season-high 34 points and Alec Burks, who had 20 points.
Quick Observations from the game:
I’m not a big fan of moral victories, but this team played a hard-fought game when they could have folded up tent when Joel Embiid went down. They clawed and kept the game close early and actually had a chance to win even with Horford in foul trouble and Harris not being effective.
I’ll say this again for those who didn’t read my last recap. ALEC BURKS IS A BUCKET!
Damian Lillard scored 51 against the Sixers, which was his 5th 50 point game of this season.
I’m assuming that the Sixers are going to start resting their main starters before the playoffs to avoid injuries or over working them.
Furkan Kormaz is not playable if he isn’t hitting 3-pointers consistently. He hit one 3-pointer tonight but didn’t provide much more than that.
Tobias Harris struggled to finish at the rim against Portland. I know it’s just one game, but I expected more from him. He was being guarded by Carmelo Anthony, who isn’t a great defender and Portland has the 27th ranked defense in the NBA.
The next game will be against the Phoenix Suns, who are undefeated at 5-0 in the bubble. That game will be a 4:30PM start on Tuesday.
First and foremost, I hope that everyone and their families are safe and healthy during this pandemic!
The 2019-20 Sixers are back, but this time they will have to be quarantined on an NBA campus while competing for an NBA championship. The NBA has decided to resume its 2019-20 NBA Season during the COVID-19 global pandemic by creating a quarantined bubble in Orlando, FL. 22 of the 30 NBA teams have been invited to Orlando to finish the season. The season will officially resume on July 30th with each team playing out the regular season with 8 “seeding games”. If the 9th seed is within 4 games of the 8th seed, that will activate “play-in” games to see who makes the playoffs. There will be plenty of rules and social distancing guidelines that players, coaches, and staff will have to endure for this bubble to remain safe and the return of the NBA to continue. Now that there is some background on the return, let’s look at the Sixers’ return schedule:
Sixers’ Schedule:
Date
Team
Time (EST)
8/1
Indiana Pacers
7:00PM
8/3
San Antonio Spurs
8:00PM
8/5
Washington Wizards
4:00PM
8/7
Orlando Magic
6:30PM
8/9
Portland Trailblazers
6:30PM
8/11
Phoenix Suns
4:30PM
8/12
Toronto Raptors
6:30PM
8/14
Houston Rockets
TBD
Where They Left Off
When the season abruptly ended, the Sixers were 39-26, which was good for 6th in the east. They were tied with the Pacers but losing the season series tie breaker so far. Ben Simmons was out indefinitely with a back injury and Joel Embiid was just returning after a 6-game absence from a shoulder injury. This team was very inconsistent and with injuries, this team just didn’t have the chemistry. The 76ers were an amazing 29-2 at home and a horrible 10-24 on the road. Many TV pundits had jumped off of the Sixers championship bandwagon and making it a point to try to drive a wedge between Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. One positive situation was beginning to develop when the season shut down and that was the rise of Shake Milton. Shake Milton came on the scene nationally with his 39-point game against the Clippers. His great play continued all the way to the shut down and I expect him to have a big role on the team going forward.
Predictions
It is hard to predict how the Sixers will perform in Orlando because it’s not technically home or away. It has been stated by some of the players that they look at this as an opportunity to restart and right the ship. The talent on the roster is there but the fit of the pieces has been an issue all season. I think we will get a mixture of the home and road Sixer performances. The rotation I expect to see includes Shake Milton joining the starting lineup of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, and Tobias Harris. Key contributors off the bench will be Al Horford (truly a 6th starter depending on matchups), Mike Scott, Glenn Robinson III, and Furkan Korkmaz. I do believe that Alec Burks and Matisse Thybulle will play but just not sure if they will play consistently as they rev up for the playoffs. As far as a prediction for the final 8 games, I think the Sixers will go 6-2 with losses vs the Magic and Suns and grab the 5th seed to face Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. We shall see if my prediction holds true, but if it does and the blue & white play the Heat in the first round, all I can say is GET YOUR POPCORN READY!
As the NBA Trade Deadline approaches, plenty of rumors have been floating around about the Philadelphia 76ers. There has been a lot of discussion about “fit” for the Sixers. Whether Joel Embiid, Al Horford, and Ben Simmons can fit together? Do the Sixers have enough perimeter shooting? Do they have enough shot-creating or play- making? All of the questions above have been floating around. Shoot, I have been asking those same questions! The Sixers will be without Joel Embiid for at least 4-6 weeks (my guesstimated timeline) with a hand injury, so we will see what this team will look like with Ben running the show but they need some help! I am not sure if there will be a major trade before the deadline, but here are my opinions on who is “most tradedable” and some possible trades that Elton Brand could make:
UNTOUCHABLE: Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris
Embiid and Simmons are franchise cornerstones and as much as the national media and NBA Twitter wants either of them to be traded, it will not happen this season. Tobias Harris’ deal is what makes him untouchable, 5 years, $180 million is a tough contract to trade in the first year. He’s had a pretty good season in my opinion but needs to be more consistent as the second scoring threat.
UNLIKELY TO BE TRADED: Al Horford, Josh Richardson, Matisse Thybulle, James Ennis
Sixers signed Al Horford as Embiid insurance and it seems with Embiid out for an extended period, they made the right signing. I don’t see Elton trading Horford unless its a big deal that they could not pass up, i.e Jrue Holiday, Bradley Beal. Josh Richardson is a budding 2- way guard who will only get better. He’s cheap at $10 million a year and the Sixers only other main perimeter creator. I can only see him being thrown in a large trade but very unlikely. Matisse is really really good on defense and becoming a better 3-point shooter. Teams will surely ask for him in trade deals, but I KNOW Elton is a smart enough GM not to include him. James Ennis has a no trade clause and one of the Sixers best bench guys. He can’t be traded unless he wanted to.
PACK YOUR BAGS: Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden, Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto, Shake Milton
I’m sorry, but all these guys mentioned above will be traded if the deal right. Let’s start with Mike Scott. I’m sorry to the Mike Scott Hive, he’s one of my favorite Sixers. He brings toughness, attitude, and shooting but that’s the thing, he hasn’t brought much shooting this year. He’s actually been terrible this year as one of our shooters, shooting only 34% from 3 over the season thus far. I hope he isn’t traded because I am also a member of the Hive, but we expect more from Mike Scott. The Sixers would have hoped Zhaire could be contributing by now but he has not. He’s been playing with the Sixers’ G-League affiliate most of the year still adjusting to NBA style basketball. A lot of teams were high on him in the 2018 NBA draft, so I expect him to be in majority of the deals. Jonah Bolden, Kyle O’Quinn (I’m confused on why he doesn’t play), and Raul Neto will all be included in any outgoing trade packages.
SKILL SET NEEDED BUT COULD BE SALARY FILLERS: Furkan Korkmaz, Trey Burke
Korkmaz is the only pure shooter the Sixers have currently, and I don’t expect him to included on any deals. He’s gotten better on defense as well, so I think he will be here past the deadline. Trey Burke can be a spark off the bench, and one of the few players on this team that can create for themselves in the Isolation or PNR. He’s penciled in as Ben’s back up right now and has shown he can play with him. Trey won’t be traded unless they are getting a shot creator back and they need his salary in the trade.
Take a look at some trade possibilities below:
Sixers trade Al Horford, Josh Richardson, Mike Scott, OKC 2020 1st round pick, 2020 NYK 2nd round pick, 2020 ATL 2nd round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Jrue Holiday and Derrick Favors
This is the one of two trades that I could see Al Horford and J-Rich moved in. Getting Jrue would be amazing, as he could assume ball handling duties for Ben in the 4th quarters and actually initiate offense for himself and others. Derrick Favors would just be Embiid’s back up and a major downgrade from Al Horford playing PF or C.
Sixers trade Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden, Raul Neto, OKC 2020 1st round pick, NYK 2020 2nd round pick, ATL 2020 2nd round pick to the Detroit Pistons for Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard
This would be ideal for the Sixers, receiving much needed ball handling, shot creating, and shooting back. Derrick Rose would be aggressive on offense with the second unit and could play crunch time 4th quarter mins in certain situations. Kennard would be the knock down shooter the Sixers desperately need to pair with Korkmaz. He can also create for himself and run JJ Reddick action types with Embiid.
Sixers trade Zhaire Smith, Kyle O’Quinn, ATL 2020 2nd round pick to the Denver Nuggets for Malik Beasley, DEN 2020 2nd round pick
Malik Beasley is averaging 6.9 PPG in 16 MPG but has recently fell out of Denver’s rotation. He is shooting 39% from behind the arc and has the skills to take people off the dribble. He would be an upgrade and could play alongside Simmons because of his shooting ability. He has some defensive issues that could be a problem but could easily come to Philly and average 10 PPG off of the bench.
Sixers trade Al Horford, Zhaire Smith, Raul Neto, 2020 OKC 1st round pick, 2020 NYK 2nd round pick, 2020 ATL 2nd round pick to the OKC Thunder for Chris Paul
Sooooooo…initially I hated this trade, but after reading about this trade a few times, I’ve been convinced that this could work. Chris Paul is a HOF point guard but he’s been known to be a bad locker room guy. The Sixers’ two young stars don’t need any more negativity in the locker room. After watching CP3 these last few weeks, I’m convinced his ball handling and PNR prowess would help the squad tremendously. Also, in the 4th quarter he could handle the ball and initiate offense for everyone. He shares the ball with two other guards in OKC, so he wouldn’t mind deferring to Ben in early situations here.
Sixers trade Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Robert Covington
RoCo! Many hated to see RoCo go in the Jimmy Butler trade in November 2018. This trade would bring him back on a cheap deal and allow the Sixers to add another “3 and D” wing. He helps with spacing but doesn’t help in shot creation. Many contenders will be in the running for Cov’s services and it will likely take more than the package you see here to trade for him.
Sixers trade Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, 2020 OKC 1st round pick to the Sacromento Kings for Bogdan Bogdanovic
This trade would give the Sixers what they need without giving up too much. It allows them to have other trade chips in their pocket if they are buying close to the trade deadline. He’s shooting 38% from three and averages almost 4 APG. He is shooting 45% on pull up jumpers and 39% on catch and shoot shots. He could be an asset in the PNR and possibly put the ball in his hands in crunch time. If you get rid of Mike Scott, you could go after Jeff Green as a free agent since he was waived by the Jazz.
Sixers trade Mike Scott, Jonah Bolden, Zhaire Smith, Kyle O’Quinn to the Washington Wizards for Davis Bertans, Isaiah Thomas, 2020 WAS 2nd round pick.
Sixers have been linked to Davis Bertans a lot recently and if the Sixers can get him, expect the Wizards to up the price. Some combination of this trade with or without Isaiah Thomas would work. Bertans would be the lights out shooter the Sixers need and could run the same action they ran with JJ Redick and Joel Embiid. Thomas would give the Sixers a back up point guard with experience that can get some buckets. Thomas would be a defensive liability and would have to play with a good group of defenders to make up for his size.
Overall, the trades above are all scenarios that could help the Sixers right away. Elton Brand will make a move in the near future and hasn’t been afraid to shake things up. I look forward to seeing what Elton has up his sleeve.
76th & Broad 