Tag: 76ers

It’s too late for Kawhi Leonard to win MVP, but he is absolutely playing like one right now

Kawhi Leonard is untouchable right now.

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Howdy, folks. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes, once again, here to usher you into the weekend. Let’s talk about Kawhi Leonard.

The NBA’s MVP debate is already raucous enough, so I don’t want to throw another wrench into it. But I’m just saying, man. The way Kawhi Leonard is playing right now? This dude should be a shoo-in for an All-NBA team and at least an honorable mention in the MVP conversation.

Get this — over the last 28 games of the season, Leonard is shooting 54% from the floor, 49% from 3-point range and 90% from the free throw line. He’s dunking on fools, hitting ridiculous turnaround fadeaway shots and locking everyone he guards up.

Most importantly, the guy just isn’t missing. Against Oklahoma City on Thursday Leonard hit 13 of his 15 shots to score 32 points. And that’s just how it’s been over the last three months or so for Kawhi.

Again, it’s way too late to insert him into the MVP conversation. But the Clippers should absolutely be feared heading into the playoffs. It’s honestly hard not to pick them for the Finals at this point considering how weak and top-heavy the West is. It’s not hard to fathom him being the best player in any series that doesn’t include Nikola Jokic in it — especially considering Kevin Durant and Steph Curry’s injury histories on the season.

Health is obviously going to be key for Los Angeles. Not only do the Clippers need to keep Kawhi on the court, but now Paul George is out with an MCL sprain and it’s unclear when he’ll be back. So it’s easy to question the Clippers’ playoff chances here.

But look. We’ve talked all year about how nobody wants to see the Warriors with Steph Curry and nobody wants to see the Suns, now, with Kevin Durant. Kawhi Leonard might be having a better season than both. And the Clippers are rolling right now.

Put some respect on this man’s name before you find yourself surprised come April.

The Tip-Off

Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.

Yo, man. What’s up with Julius Randle? Officials don’t get it right all the time — just ask Fred Van Vleet. But, man. Yelling at the refs to the point that you get a technical foul? And then compounding that by almost fighting your teammate?

Sorry, Knicks fans. That’s not a good look at all. Bryan Kalbrosky has more.

“During New York’s game against the Magic on Thursday, the 2021 NBA Most Improved Player argued with referee Leon Wood. The longtime official is a former first-round pick and he is one of just three former NBA players to become an NBA referee.

While the forward argued with Wood, his teammate Immanuel Quickley tried de-escalating the situation. But unfortunately, Randle remained heated with the situation and eventually, the two had to get separated before the problem became even bigger.”

This is an issue. That was his third straight game with a technical foul. That also happened to be the Knicks’ third consecutive loss in a row.

If Randle is going to be a leader and the best player on that team, things like this cannot happen. I’m just afraid it may be too late to reverse course.

One to Watch

(All odds via Tipico.)

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors (-5.5, -190) vs. 76ers (+160), O/U 234.5, 10 PM ET

What makes this game so fascinating is everything both these teams are playing for. The Warriors have a shot to catch the Suns as the West’s 4th seed and get back into that homecourt slot. The 76ers are playing just a half-game behind the Celtics as the 2 seed. There’s a lot on the line here so both teams should come in their best form.

Shootaround

— The Hornets’ roster is so thin that Charlotte literally had no one on its bench, from Prince Grimes.

—Tom Brady is here for the WNBA and that’s a huge win for both him and the league.

— Markquis Nowell trash-talking Isiah Thomas is just perfect.

— AIR — the movie about Michael Jordan joining Nike with no Michael Jordan — has a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Enjoy the weekend, folks.

5 reasons why James Harden returning to the Rockets is an extremely bad idea

This just doesn’t make any sense at all

We’ve seen some pretty high-profile reunions in the NBA before. The one that immediately comes to mind for everyone is LeBron James rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers and bringing them a championship.

Of course, that reunion came with a fairy tale ending. But every story isn’t a fairy tale.

And a James Harden return to the Houston Rockets certainly isn’t equipped to be that — especially not at this point. The situation just doesn’t make that much sense.

Yet, here we are. It’s an actual thing. The Athletic’s Sam Amick is reporting that Houston is expected to pursue James Harden this offseason if he declines his player option for the 2023-24 season with the 76ers.

There’s more. Harden is also said to be just as interested in a reunion with the Rockets, too.

“Sources, who like all of the other sources in this story were granted anonymity so that they could speak freely, have told The Athletic Houston is widely expected to pursue the 13-year veteran point guard if, as is expected, he declines his player option for the 2023-24 season. And even more surprisingly, sources with knowledge of Harden’s outlook say he’s as serious about a possible return now as he was when he left town.”

This really looks like a thing that could happen. Between Amick’s new reporting, Adrian Wojnarowski’s previous reporting and all the rumblings across Houston media circles, it feels like this is actually going to happen.

But let’s be clear about this: It’s a bad idea for all parties around. Let’s dive into why.

Here’s everything the Nets got back for Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving

The Nets got a solid haul in return for all of their stars, but it could’ve been more

Welp. The superstar era is over in Brooklyn. The Nets have officially lost all of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden in the span of a calendar year.

The Nets just traded both Durant and Irving in the same week to the Suns and the Mavericks respectively. Now, they’re left back at square one. They have to start over without a single All-Star on the roster.

This time, though, they’ve got a bit of a head start thanks to the haul they got back in return for their Big 3.

A team is never going to get back an even return when trading away superstars — that’s just not how the NBA works. But considering their circumstances, the Nets made out pretty well.

Let’s go over the pieces.

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Shaq showed up to the ‘Inside the NBA’ set looking like one of the Rugrats after losing a bet to Candace Parker

Shaq is truly a man of his word.

Shaq really, really, really has to stop betting his colleagues on the NBA on TNT set. It never turns out fun for this guy.

He already had to eat frog this year after losing a bet on the TCU Horned Frogs. He also was forced to grow his hair back twice after losing bets on the set.

Now, he’s got hair again after losing a bet to Candace Parker. Again. But this time, it’s in the wildest place.

Shaq bet Candace that Joel Embiid would score 50 points against the Clippers. Unfortunately for Shaq, Embiid didn’t hold him down. He didn’t score 50, so Shaq had to come on set with his baby hair popping.

No idea how he acquired this hair, but I’m almost certain it didn’t grow considering where his forehead was the last time he grew hair. But, regardless, Shaq looks completely ridiculous.

Shaq is a man of his word, indeed. The baby hairs are poppin’. Then when Candace brushes it, too? Whew boy. I absolutely lost it. This man really has one patch of hair on his head.

Nah, man. They really got Shaq on the set looking like Phil and Lil off of Rugrats. What a time.

Fans were cackling at the look.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo took a flagrant foul from Joel Embiid and somehow did not budge

Giannis Antetokounmpo must really be made of steel

Listen, man. Montrezl Harrell is a brave, brave man. Any person who can take a flagrant foul from Joel Embiid and not budge seems like somebody who you don’t really want to mess with.

That’s what Giannis Antetokounmpo did. And it wasn’t just any flagrant foul, either. Embiid gave the man an elbow to the gut. He really didn’t move.

Antetokounmpo was coming down the court in transition. Embiid is sliding and tries to stop him but is clearly out of position. The only thing he can do is foul, but he shouldn’t have fouled him this way. He gives him the elbow, but Antetokounmpo still gets up the shot and watches the ball after.

Embiid is somehow the one who ends up on the ground! It’s incredible.

If Antetokounmpo falls this is probably a flagrant 2. But, clearly, it wasn’t that big of a deal to him.

Embiid really hockey-checked that man. If it were a normal human being they’d probably have immediately exploded. I mean, that dude is 7 feet and 280 pounds. That’s a brick wall, fam.

But Giannis is Giannis. This is pretty incredible. Fans were blown away.

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Sixers giving up an embarrassingly high number of transition points

The Philadelphia 76ers are off to an embarrassing start in terms of transition defense to begin the season.

The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to a pretty tough start to the 2022-23 season. They are 1-4 after a loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. The loss shined even more light on familiar issues.

Offensively, Philadelphia continues to be one of the slowest teams in the league. They are dead last in pace. Even more alarming are the points they are giving up in transition.

Per Tom Haberstroh of the Basketball Illuminati Pod, the Sixers are giving up 139 points per 100 possessions in transition. It is by far the worst rate in the NBA to begin the season, and the worst since Synergy began tracking that stat in 2004.

Joel Embiid says he wants to see more effort from the Sixers on the defensive end of the floor. At this point, they need to start by focusing on getting back on defense and picking up a man in transition. Considering the personnel they have on the roster, the Sixers should not be this bad on defense.

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Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown couldn’t be stopped, once again, and that should terrify the Eastern Conference

Good luck, Eastern Conference. You’re going to need it.

The 76ers were desperate to pry PJ Tucker away from the Miami Heat. They jumped through a bunch of contractual hoops and hurdles to get it done.

Any reasonable person would probably be asking themselves, “wait, why are the Sixers so desperate to sign a 37-year-old?” The answer is the team that made it to the NBA Finals last season — it’s the Boston Celtics.

Particularly, it’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Eastern Conference runs through them. There’s no debating that.

But that’s exactly why the 76ers went to get Tucker. It’s why they picked up Danuel House. It’s why they traded for De’Anthony Melton. They needed wing defenders who could take on the challenge of guarding the Celtics’ duo.

Opening night was a test run and Philadelphia absolutely failed.

They allowed 70 points between the two of them with Tatum and Brown finishing with 35 points a piece. It didn’t matter who guarded them. PJ Tucker? Food. Tobias Harris? Food. Melton? Toast. You get the point by now. There wasn’t anything anyone could do with either of them.

A lot of the work was done on the break after Sixers turnovers. They had 14 total, which lead to easy buckets. But much of it was created by the elite athleticism and anticipation the Celtics’ two wings have.

But don’t get it twisted — there was also elite shot creation mixed in with moments like these.

The 76ers couldn’t contain penetration on the perimeter and were stretched thin by the Celtics’ 5-out lineups. It resulted in a ton of easy baskets for the Jays — particularly for Brown, who continuously bullied his way to the rack.

The night wasn’t perfect for them. They shot a combined 6-19 from deep and turned the ball over 7 times between the two of them. But there was far more good than bad for them on a night when it just seemed like they couldn’t be stopped.

Look, it’s only one game. It’s not time for overreaction. The NBA season is a marathon — not a sprint. Just because the 76ers’ wing defenders didn’t work tonight, doesn’t mean they won’t.

And, if we’re being honest, Boston has a lot to clean up, too. As bad as the 76ers’ defense was, the Celtics were just as leaky. Boston allowed 119.4 points per 100 possessions, which is miles away from their NBA-best 106.2 rating from last season.

But, if we’re being honest, it’s becoming harder and harder to think of better duos in the NBA than Tatum and Brown. The scariest part is that they’re only 24 and 26 years old, respectively. They’re only getting better. No one seems to have an answer for them. and that’s scary.

The good news is the league has a few months to try and figure it out. Best of luck.

James Harden dropped Marcus Smart into oblivion with this crossover and then confidently (and hilariously) bricked the shot

This is performance art. That’s the only way to describe this.

I know it’s only been one game so far, but James Harden and Marcus Smart might’ve just given us the most unintentionally hilarious play we’ll see all year.

Of course, there will be some that give it some go. The NBA season is a marathon — not a sprint. But just know this play is going to be waiting at the finish line by the year’s end. I promise you that.

James Harden hit Marcus Smart with an insane crossover at the top of the 3-point line. The result, somehow, was Marcus Smart laying on the baseline? Just…nah. Enough of me describing it. See for yourself.

Everything about this is perfect. The crossover. The immaculate flop. The shimmy. The BRICK. Oh my goodness, y’all. The brick. This is performance art at its finest.

The NBA season is long, to be sure. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. But at the same time? Man, this is going to be hard to top.

Kevin Garnett takes the temperature of 76ers basketball with old friend Sam Cassell

And of course, they also touched on their time together on the Celtics.

By now most fans of the Boston Celtics know the Philadelphia 76ers are one of a few Eastern Conference teams expected to contend for the 2023 NBA championship this summer. But just how good are the Sixers, really?

Hall of Fame member and former Celtic Kevin Garnett decided to get to the bottom of that question with former teammate and fellow 2008 title winner Sam Cassell on a recent episode of the Showtime Basketball “KG Certified” podcast. The duo chopped it up about the state of Philly basketball where Cassell is an assistant coach under former Boston head coach Doc Rivers.

And of course, they also touched on their time together on the Celtics.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what The Big Ticket had to say to Cassell, and get up to speed on what Boston might be facing this postseason.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Nets vs. 76ers NBA Preseason: How to watch, start time, TV Channel

With the Brooklyn Nets season first preseason game, the team takes their roster to the hardcourt to test their lineups.

Finally, the NBA season is on the horizon as the preseason begins on Monday for the Brooklyn Nets. They will take on the Philadelphia 76ers in their opening game at home.

The Nets franchise will be taking the hardwood against Philly, opening in Barclays Center. The team will use this game to work on their various game plans and lineups. The first preseason game is an important one as it gives the team a chance to see how their players will compete together, several players are recovering from injuries so this will give them their first minutes back on the court.

The team will be bringing back talent, but will also give some younger players a chance to prove themselves and carve out some roleplaying minutes.

Here’s when and where to catch tonight’s preseason debut for Kevin Durant and the Nets organization: