Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
For the second consecutive year, the Philadelphia 76ers got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
Philadelphia lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games, with James Harden arguably playing one of the worst playoff series of his career.
Last night, Harden only attempted nine shots in an elimination game, finishing with 11 points. And as you would expect, Twitter had a field day with ‘The Beard’ and the 76ers’ elimination.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to James Harden’s poor night in an elimination game vs. the Miami Heat.
For the second consecutive year, the Philadelphia 76ers got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
Philadelphia lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games, with James Harden arguably playing one of the worst playoff series of his career.
Last night, Harden only attempted nine shots in an elimination game, finishing with 11 points. And as you would expect, Twitter had a field day with ‘The Beard’ and the 76ers’ elimination.
After an embarrassing playoff exit to the Atlanta Hawks last season, Ben Simmons demanded a trade and never suited up for the Sixers again. They managed to stay afloat throughout the year thanks to another Joel Embiid MVP-caliber season, Tyrese Maxey’s ascension, and turning a Simmons on strike into James Harden. Going from the early season Simmons saga to making a significant mid-season trade and winning a playoff series should be considered a successful season.
The Sixers will now have the opportunity to reshape the roster around their new star duo after moving off several key role players in the trade for Harden. Along with negotiating a new contract for him, they will also need to make some decisions on other key role players and improve the roster through trade and free agency.
The new kids in town: DeVonta Smith & Tyrese Maxey are making a huge impact in Philadelphia
DeVonta Smith met all the expectations when the Eagles drafted him in the 2021 NFL draft— and so has Philadelphia Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey.
The young stars have carved names out for themselves in two different professional sports, but they’re accomplishing feats with the grit and hard work that Philadelphia fans covet.
Maxey, a 2020 first-round pick, scored a career-playoff-high 38 points against the Raptors in Game 1 of the Sixers’ Eastern Conference first-round series.
Smith finished his rookie season with 916 yards (just 84 short of 1,000 yards), 64 receptions, five touchdowns, and 14.3 yards per catch.
Maxey has ascended as one of the Sixers’ key pieces in their 2022 playoffs run so far, and his 12.6 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 121 regular-season games have been a bright spot after the Ben Simmons disaster.
The most exciting young studs in Philly sports.#Eagles pic.twitter.com/OmBxpuZfQl
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) April 17, 2022
Smith should continue to improve alongside Jalen Hurts and could give the Eagles their first 1,000-yard receiver since Jeremy Maclin (1,318) in 2014.
Both Smith and Maxey are providing what the city of Philadelphia needs urgently needs, two young, reserved, but gritty, emerging sports stars.
The Raptors are preying on Philly.
After Thursday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors, the Philadelphia 76ers will finish the regular season 1-3 against the team north of the border. It was a game they led by as much as 15, but one that further exposed the Raptors as a matchup the Sixers may want to avoid in the postseason.
Unfortunately for Philly, the result of Thursday’s game makes a Raptors-Sixers first-round series that much closer to a reality. Toronto is just a game away from locking up the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and though a single game separates the Sixers from second place, they’re currently holding down the fourth seed.
If the season ended today, these teams would meet in the postseason for the first time since the seven-game series Toronto won in 2019 on Kawhi Leonard’s dramatic buzzer-beater.
🏀 FINAL SCORE THREAD 🏀
Pascal Siakam dropped 23 points in the second half as he led the @Raptors to a comeback victory erasing a 15 point deficit! #WeTheNorth
Pascal Siakam: 37 PTS, 11 REB, 12 AST, 2 STL
Gary Trent Jr: 30 PTS, 5 REB, 5 3PM
Joel Embiid: 30 PTS, 10 REB pic.twitter.com/BjRM0AEDBS— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2022
These teams are dramatically different from then, but the biggest difference is that Joel Embiid is now unquestionably the best player between them. And when you have the best player in a series, a legit MVP candidate no less, your chances are pretty good – in theory.
In practice, that hasn’t worked out this season; the Sixers were favored in each of those games against Toronto and went 0-4 against the spread. Two of those games were after the Sixers acquired James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets, both resulting in outright losses.
When Harden is at the top of his game, the Sixers have the two best players between these teams. But he’s been anything but that in the majority of his time with Philly. Harden was phenomenal in his first four games with the Sixers. In the 16 games since, he’s shooting under 36% from the field and under 30% from three. He’s still giving them 20 points and 10 assists – including 15 assists Thursday – but the Sixers are in big trouble if this version of Harden shows up in the playoffs.
The Raptors trailed by as many as 15 tonight before coming back to beat the 76ers, 119-114, behind Pascal Siakam's 37-point triple-double.
For Philadelphia, it's their 7th loss this season after leading by 15+ points, 2nd only to the Knicks (8) for most in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/2j5iXPtH8g
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 8, 2022
Pascal Siakam, meanwhile, has been incredible against Philly this season, averaging 30 points on 50% shooting after a 37-point triple-double on Thursday. He plays inside and outside in the Raptors’ smaller lineups, which are a perfect combatant to their disadvantage against Embiid. The Sixers haven’t even had to contend with Toronto’s only All-Star, Fred VanVleet, who missed the last three games between these teams. Add to that, Philly’s best perimeter defender Matisse Thybulle may be unavailable for games in Toronto. All this leads to a first-round series that could make the Sixers and their fans a lot more uncomfortable than they should be in a season with such large expectations.
There is one way they can avoid it though: win these last two games against the Pacers and Pistons, hope the Celtics lose Sunday to the Grizzlies, and get the hell out of the fourth seed.
Allen Iverson’s crossover on Michael Jordan in 1997 is one of the NBA’s most entertaining and iconic moments. Watch it here.
After lighting it up in Georgetown, Allen Iverson was the No. 1 overall pick in 1996. By the spring of 1997, it was clear he had that season’s Rookie of the Year award in the bag. And on March 12, the Answer met the GOAT for the first time in Philly.
As Iverson admitted during his Hall of Fame speech in 2016, Michael Jordan was the reason he first picked up a basketball. Meeting your childhood idol can be never-wracking – he’d be excused if he had been overly anxious.
That’s not really Bubba Chuck’s speed, however. Not only was Iverson going to rise to the occasion, but the rookie was going to own the moment. Here’s what AI said about the moment years later:
“…I heard Phil Jackson call [Jordan] out. He called him out on the switch. Come here, man. Now I’mma try my move on the best person that I’ve ever seen play the game. Now I’mma see if this move is real. And now I’m like, ‘Oh [expletive]’, and the craziest part is I didn’t know what I did until ESPN and ‘errbody else talking about it. I hit him with that thang.”
For his career, Michael Jordan was named to the NBA All-Defensive First-Team nine times, including in ’96, ’97, and ’98. This man played impossibly good defense. And Iverson cooked him all the same.
It’s one of those iconic moments that lives in the heart of every true NBA fan. In some ways, this was the moment AI really arrived on the NBA scene. And as Iverson tells it, Jordan still brings this moment up to this day.
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Jason Kelce is a national treasure.
There’s nothing Jason Kelce can’t do, is there?
Before Monday’s Philadelphia 76ers game against the Denver Nuggets, Kelce took center court to perform the national anthem in front of thousands of fans AND a national television audience! Just days after inking a new deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelce absolutely crushed the national anthem with a mix of some really lovely singing and hilarious yelling in his usual gruff voice.
Why was Kelce singing the national anthem at a mid-season Sixers game? Well, he helped former teammate Connor Barwin’s charity reach over $100,000 by the end of last year, and in exchange Kelce stated he’d sing the national anthem. And what a performance it was!
Jason Kelce is a national treasure. pic.twitter.com/8PbdhsokPw
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 14, 2022
Seriously, all the props in the world to Kelce for going all out for this and just owning it. And hilariously, Kelce stated he was incredibly nervous about going up there and singing in front of all those fans!
Jason Kelce's won a Super Bowl, given the speech of a lifetime, and is generally a living legend.
But he has to admit… singing the National Anthem before Monday's Sixers game has him shook 😅 pic.twitter.com/kuy3SzDQRJ
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 14, 2022
Kelce is an absolute national treasure.
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Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Brooklyn Nets blowing out the Philadelphia 76ers in Ben Simmons’ return.
The Brooklyn Nets made a statement Thursday night with Ben Simmons on Steve Nash‘s bench in Philadelphia against the Sixers with a 129-100 blowout win.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving faced their former teammate, James Harden, and shut him down throughout the game (11 points on 3-17 from the field). The boos directed at former 76er Simmons were loud and the atmosphere had a playoff game feel to it, but the visitors got the last laugh.
Here’s how NBA fans on Twitter reacted to the blowout Nets win, KD and Joel Embiid trash-talking each other, and Ben Simmons getting booed by the home crowd.
The Brooklyn Nets made a statement Thursday night with Ben Simmons on Steve Nash‘s bench in Philadelphia against the Sixers with a 129-100 blowout win.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving faced their former teammate, James Harden, and shut him down throughout the game (11 points on 3-17 from the field). The boos directed at former 76er Simmons were loud and the atmosphere had a playoff game feel to it, but the visitors got the last laugh.
Here’s how NBA fans on Twitter reacted to the blowout Nets win, KD and Joel Embiid trash-talking each other, and Ben Simmons getting booed by the home crowd.
The boos were out for Ben!
There was never any doubt that Ben Simmons wouldn’t receive copious amounts of boos in his return to the Wells Fargo Center amongst the Philly Faithful.
On Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets made their first trip across state lines to face the Philadelphia 76ers since the blockbuster trade that sent Simmons to New York, with James Harden going back in return. Simmons may be on the bench for Thursday night’s game, but Sixers fans were out in full force even before the main event, as he faced boos leaving the hotel in the morning.
Given that it’s Philadelphia, Simmons is sure to hear it from fans of his former team throughout the course of the night. Here’s every major moment from Simmons’s return to Philadelphia.
