Trill Bro Dude
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
After the Olympics, after everything was done, it's kind of similar to the Kelly Oubre signing from a year ago, but Kelly has completely regressed in his role. They really just have a lack of shooting. They have a lack of good passers, and then they have really no functional offense due to that. The defense has been good at times.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
We also happen to be getting the worst shooting luck on both ends of the court, but but also part of that is due to the fact that we're leaving shooters wide open on defense and our shooters that are being left wide open on defense are Caleb Martin and Kelly Oubre and guys that, you know, teams want to shoot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So right now it is really like the fact that it, like I said, the general lack of skill from the rest of the roster, even beyond just the stars, not playing like stars has also been a massive struggle. And all of the fringe signings that Daryl Morey made this off season is It was like they all instantly got as washed as you possibly can be at the same time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
It was like Kyle Lowry fell even further down the cliff. Eric Gordon became even more unplayable. Andre Drummond cannot play more than like five to 10 minutes in a game. And now they're basically left with a slow, small, old, unskilled roster.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And really what this comes down to for me is like even if the stars were playing better, there would be obvious holes that you could address at the trade deadline with the contracts and the picks that they have.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
But now you have to completely reexamine what you do with this season because there's no use in pushing in the chips when the team not only are they not contenders, like they might not make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. So I think that. This is something that we'll learn more about when we hit probably that 20 game mark.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Now that Paul George is going to miss more games and we'll understand more about what the team does from there. But right now it's, it's like you said, it couldn't, it couldn't be worse. They have the worst record in the NBA, the worst offense in the NBA. And I can't even believe we're sitting here talking about this today, to be honest with you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Yeah. Basically the thing with Lowry is that He's already a hesitant shooter as it is. And when he is, you know, Lowry's Hall of Fame player, great career. You know, the issue right now with as he ages as a small guard is defensively he's been getting exposed. And then in addition to that, he's just not a threat to score at all. Like you said, he can't get to the rim.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He really has no lift even in the mid range. He doesn't have a floater game. So when they give him the ball to run actions to even get Joel in place, it's just so easy to defend a guy that you don't have to worry about as a scoring threat, literally at all. And in addition to that, he was shooting 60% from three in his first like four games of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And since then, I think he's made two threes in this stretch and has just completely cratered the Miami Heat who look, they used to have Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin. Their strategy the other night when we played them was leave both of those guys wide open. They don't want to shoot. And if they do shoot, it's, you know, we'll live with the results.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And I've said this about some of the older guys in the NBA, the Chris Pauls, the LeBrons, you know, even the KDs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
when they come back from an extended period of break like they always look like a better better or best version of themselves because they have fresh legs they can come in they really can you know their shot just tends to fall more often this is why i think after the all-star break you see boost from these guys when you get to the playoffs you see boost from these guys we saw the best of kyle lowry in the first four games and ever since he's been in my opinion by far the worst starter in the nba like he's just doesn't have anything left in the tank
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And the problem with this now is the fact that like Nick Nurse trusts Kyle Lowry. He won a championship with Kyle Lowry and is basically sees him as like a coach on the floor. And I just think that he needs to be a coach on the bench right now because it's just this. Like I said, like this team is kind of slow, kind of old, kind of small. And Lowry is like the perfect encapsulation of all of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And it kind of just brings out all of the flaws that are that are built within the team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
It's so here's why. I don't think that people realize how bad this team actually is because I don't think they really watch them. Like you said, they've won two games in overtime. They didn't even win in regulation. And November 22nd, they haven't won a game in regulation. That is pretty wild. They haven't won a game in regulation. And really, if I were to like break down every single game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
They had a fake comeback against Memphis so that the score didn't look that bad. They got blown out in that game. There have been other than the games that they actually won. I think you could make the argument that there has been a maximum of two games that they had a chance to win outside of that. And really, it was the Suns game. Paul George's first game back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
That they had a chance to win in the fourth quarter with five minutes left. They blew the lead. They were up seven with like three minutes left and they blew the lead. But I think that people don't really wrap their brain around not only how bad this team is, but also like one of the things that I point out in that Pacers game that they that they won in overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Caleb Martin had one of the stupidest fouls I've ever seen in my life to Tyrese Halliburton because he thought that the Sixers were up three and they were actually up two. And Halliburton missed both free throws that would have sent it to double overtime. So we could be sitting here with them having one win against the Charlotte Hornets in overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And by the way, the best two players in that game were Jared McCain and Gershon Yabusele. So. It will get to be clear. It will get better as Joel gets a little bit more healthy, even if he doesn't reach MVP level status again, he will be, he will look like in the last game, he finally looked like at least like an all-star level player. I would say Maxie will get better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I mean, he's shooting so horribly. Paul George was also shooting terribly. You know, these are like legitimately some of the best shooters in the NBA that are just having horrible starts to the season. But I do think between the, the factor of guys being in and out of the lineup, like Paul George and Embiid,
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
They still want to do their back to back plan where, you know, they sit them on the second half of a back to back. And I think in addition to that, just the, you know, like once one guy's back, another guy gets hurt. And this roster really only functions when everyone is healthy. So I think that there definitely is a chance that they can go into the tank.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
The only teams that I think that they are almost certainly going to finish with a better record than in the Eastern Conference are the Wizards and the Nets. Other than that, you could tell me anyone else finished with a better record because they've shown a different level of competency as a basketball team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I mean, honestly, I I kind of stopped trying to do like the whole psychology thing with Embiid like two years ago. Yeah, because everything he says in the media just constantly is contradicting. And he changes his mind every week on, you know, what what the reason is, why the team is the way that it is and why everyone hates him and blah, blah, blah. And I.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I mean, I've just to be completely honest, like I've always obviously supported Joel. Like he I've said that for years that the Sixers have actually been Joel and bead merchants. I don't think that anyone on the team really can function without him. But now he might be at a different point of his career. And.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I think all of these things that, you know, you dealt with with the Joel Embiid experience when it when it comes to all of the media stuff and and and, you know, like the being late to practice and games. Sometimes you could deal with it when he was an MVP level player that guaranteed you 50 wins and a win in the playoffs at least every year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I think that the calculus starts to change when, you know, he might not be that level of player anymore. And there are rising stars in the organization and Maxie and McCain. And everyone is new on this team. Like people are trying to adjust. Caleb Martin's new. Yabu's new. Like he hasn't played with the large majority of players on this team. So I think.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
the thing that I just want to see from Joel is like, just that he cares about being a good teammate. And like, I know he's not the best quote unquote leader, but also, you know, look, star players have been able to win championships. They've been able to contend without being great leaders before.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And I think Maxie is obviously the vocal leader in the locker room, which is, and he has a great relationship with, with in bead, which is why he was able to say what he said to him in that meeting. And I think right now it just, I would just like to see a level of like,
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
you know just taking a little bit of accountability for some of the stuff that has happened like I like I said like Joel doesn't really owe anything to the Sixers organization if anything the Sixers organization probably owes more to him but if he is not going to be the guy that they could completely rely on all the time it's probably gonna have to change you know it's probably gonna have to change like over the next year or so because you know people will be throwing him into the trade machine I've said time and time again I don't think they're ever gonna trade him
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Unless he asked for a trade and he can't even be traded this season because he just signed an extension in the offseason. So next summer would be the earliest that you can possibly do it. So, look, maybe they have their year from hell and he asked out after the season. But I would imagine that if they were to ever actually trade him, knowing Daryl Morey's history.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Joel Embiid would have to be just at a different point of his career. And is anyone actually trading for him when he is on that contract? He's on an MVP level contract and he has not played like an MVP so far. Now, part of that might be the knee, but also that's just kind of his new reality.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I think I think this meniscus surgery changes players for the rest of their career and they just kind of have to manage it. So.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Well, if he's good as Raptors Twitter, they figured it out pretty, pretty quick. I don't know if you saw that post, but yes, basically, if anyone missed this, one of the phrases that Nick Nurse used a lot when he was with the Raptors was the elephant in the room. This is so good. In the Shams report, he literally says elephant in the room. From the source.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So everyone is kind of thinking that it could potentially be Nick Nurse or at least someone from his staff. And I think a lot of that makes sense if you think about it. I mean, like, who wants to shift blame and not have any responsibility? The coach that's under pressure or, you know, the front office that could potentially be under pressure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Like, I think that the way that this is going to break down is that... if they find out that it actually was Nick nurse, I think there's really no going back. Like, I don't think they'll fire him in season to be completely honest with you, but I think they would readdress it in the off season. I think ownership, my personal take on this is that I think ownership is too cheap.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
to fire him and pay him and then pay two coaches again, because they did that last year before Doc got hired by the Bucks. They were paying Doc and Nick Nurse. And Nick Nurse is like one of the five highest paid coaches in the NBA. Like, I don't think that they're just going to eat his salary because this thing isn't working out again, because that would be the third coach in the Joel Embiid era.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He's had like four different co-stars at this point, three different co-stars at least. And I think that the organization is probably getting to the point where it's like, figure this thing out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
because even i'm sure guys will be upset they'll he'll lose trust in the locker room but they they're they're not going to do it in season because that rarely ever works anyway and they're not going to want to pay the money so yeah i also just wonder if it's clutch like trying to push this because it's like because maxi looks awesome after some of these reports
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I forgot Nick Nurse was clutch. That's a great point. I mean, I knew Maxie was obviously because of the rich ball connection, but that's no, it makes total sense. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So before the season, I think every Sixers fan's dream was that one of Trey Murphy or Jalen Johnson did not get extended by their team. And then the Sixers could just like...
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Throw a ton of picks at them and get them on their rookie contract before because the Sixers really need, especially if this team is healthy, they really need like a big wing who can play with the rest, especially with the rise of Jared McCain. I think that they're going to be looking at forwards in this trade marketplace.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Because I think with Maxie McCain, whether you think that fit can work or not, you'll figure that out either like down the line. You know, maybe maybe there is eventually it just doesn't work because they're both small guards or whatever. But for now, it seems like that's going to be something that they're going to want to try to make work in the meantime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So I think forwards are definitely like there are boring targets out there like who would just make sense. Like Dorian Finney-Smith is the most exciting name in the world. But for the Sixers to get a guy defensively like him that you can throw on the other team's best player and then also on top of that can help with your rebounding and shooting woes from the wing spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
It wouldn't hurt to get a guy like him, but it also doesn't solve my biggest thing is I think their biggest issue is the fact that they just have really a lack of passing and a lack of guys who can capably pass and create for themselves and make open shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
My dream target would probably be someone more, you know, a realistic target would probably be someone like Cam Johnson, although money wise, it's a little bit hard to get to that because you probably have to include Kelly Oubre, Andre Drummond, K.J. Martin. To be clear, I'd be fine with that. I'm fine with that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I'm saying that the Nets might not want to take on because Kelly Oubre and Drummond go into next year. So you'd have to figure out a way to either move those guys to another team or, you know, maybe the Nets are willing to take on. They've had Andre Drummond, but they love get it. You know, we get Andre Drummond back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He's washed and then we trade him halfway through the season to the Nets for the second time in what, three years here. But so. So there definitely are options out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I mean, my dream target that is completely unrealistic, and I'm sure Grizzlies fans would be screaming if they heard this, but I would love for them to cheap out and not want to pay Santi Aldama and just overpay for him in a trade because I literally watched him destroy us the other night. I've always liked Santi and he's also someone who is like kind of sneaky, young, silly, like 24 years old.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Once again, big, big wing slash big kind of but super skilled, you know, was great for for Spain in the Olympics and then has really crushed it for the Grizzlies. And they have they have a lot of guys on that team now. They're super deep. And there I don't know if they're going to pay him. I'd imagine they will just just end up paying him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
But I would love to be the team that lines up to trade for him because I think that he has sneaky like I don't know if I want to say star upside, but certainly in the right context, I think he could be he could be maximized and be like a very good starting level player at least.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So I had a list of players that I wanted the Sixers to target at 16. And if you look at my tweet, I think he actually was the best available because I had guys that went ahead of him like Rob Dillingham and Devin Carter. And then by the time the Sixers pick him around, he was actually technically number one left on my board. I had him 11th on my draft board when we did it on the podcast.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And if I could go back now, he would be shooting up those rankings because I was – I honestly, just to be completely transparent, when I saw him in summer league and preseason, I was like horrified. I was like, oh, no, did we just draft? Like, honestly, I got to the point where I was like, did we just draft a small, unathletic guard who can only shoot?
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And that was like my biggest fear was that like, oh, we just drafted a bus. And then once he got into a rhythm, he's such a smart player. that he just picks up things so quickly. He learned the pace of the NBA so quick. He, he's not just a shooter. He's like an elite shooter moves off the ball. Like he's Stephen clay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
You know, he is someone who plays with pace with the ball reminds me of almost of like a, a Jalen Brunson when he has the ball. And he's an underrated passer and playmaker, something he didn't really get to show off at Duke. And he,
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I remember before the draft being like, I thought he would be a good fit for the Sixers specifically because we we just need like I said, we need guys who can pass and shoot. And he has shown way more than I had ever expected in his first handful of starts in the NBA. I mean, I don't know if you guys saw the stat, but he has the most points through four starts since the merger for any player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And actually, Allen Iverson was in second place for a rookie. Oh, really? So, yeah. Yeah. So that was pretty mind blowing. I was I was joking. I don't know if you guys know the tweet. That's the old Los Angeles Angels tweet about Mike Trout and Otani and how they they're always breaking these records.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
That happened. But but then they lose like nine to two. That's how I feel about Jared McCain. Like every week it's like a new thing. Oh, he has the highest BPM since Magic Johnson for a guard as a rookie. And then, you know, the Sixers lose by 20. So at least. At least we have that silver lining of Jared being so good, and he's blown my expectations out of the water.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I liked him in the draft, but he's clearly been one of the three or four best rookies in this class, and he's still only 20 years old, so sky's the limit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I actually didn't check it this morning. I should have. I think it's... Last time I checked it, it was... First off, if you look at the BPM charts, the two players below him are Jimmy Butler and James Harden. So that tells you where he ranks in the league. He's top 30 in BPM right now, I believe. As of a few days ago, it was like a plus 5 BPM. I think he's down to like a plus 3.5 maybe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Maybe like a plus 4. But either way, if you look at the list of rookies that have a BPM even above 2... Unless they're defensive specialists, they almost always make an all-star team at some point in their career. And once again, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. It's only been 14 games. He's only played in, I think, 12. But
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So rookies aren't this good right away, especially small guard rookies. Like if you look at the list, it's all big. It's all Victor, women, Yaba, Michael Jordan. I think the only small guard on this whole list that was even in the same realm as him for BPM of guys that were 21 and under his rookies is Chris Paul. So yeah. And he's gotten cosides from he got a phone call from Chris Paul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
LeBron did the jersey swap with him. He has a close personal relationship with Steph Curry. So obviously those guys saw it before I even did, because he's just been absolutely incredible so far in his rookie season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
It's been Hiver Connect so far, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He is crushing it. Well, I have a long history of having some of my favorite players in the NBA come into the Sixers and just sucking. So I'm kind of used to this. It's not like Al Horford, Kyle Lowry, Paul George to the list. James Harden, and even
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
To be fair, Harden was very good for the Sixers, and even though he had his downside, he also gave me some of my favorite moments in the past few years, especially in that Celtics series. But no, it's just been frustrating because the thing with Paul George is that... I remember making an argument on the podcast last year that Harden was way better than Paul George last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And the only reason Paul George made the all star team over him was because of politics. And I thought that Paul George had amongst Clippers fans and amongst some of NBA Twitter. I felt that he had gotten a little bit underrated, but he probably was overrated by the media and the NBA world at large because of, you know, he's a Hall of Fame level player, one of one of the best players of all time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I think the thing that has been so frustrating for me so far has been the fact that we haven't really been able to see Paul George in the role that I wanted him to be in because him Maxie and Embiid literally only played in that Memphis game together that's the only game they played so far and he got hurt again and
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
in a way that this was kind of predictable with his age and his injuries and, and all of that. But in another way, it's like, this is one of the best wing shooters of all time. That shooting in the twenties from three, like this, these kinds of things, like, look, they happen to other teams for sure. I know Lakers fans are like, think that only guys shoot bad on their team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Uh, but the Sixers have an, a weird amount of these things happening, uh, Where like a guy will either come to the team and have like a career. He had a career high shooting from three last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And once again, if he came here and he and this is the same thing as the Joel thing. If he came here and performed and he was doing all this stuff on his podcast and no one would care. like no one cares that Draymond green goes on his podcast and screams at clouds every week because the warriors are winning and he's won all these titles and he's stamped forever because of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
But Paul George, because of the rep that he has and because of the fact that the team is struggling right now and he's massively struggling and he has these expectations because of the contract, it just feels like it's kind of a perfect storm for everyone just to be mad at him. And look, I, I don't know how anyone would really deal with the situation. It just seems like the vibes are totally off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And I really can't even blame him, even though I would like him to be playing a lot better and not podcasting about the team having beef. Like, I really I can't blame him for the podcast part for sure. But but just in general, I want to give it more time and hopefully he can get healthy and they can have a normal amount of time together to figure this thing out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He's one of my favorite players. It sucks. Like, I don't like I love Paul. Prime Paul George was one of my favorite players to watch. So it's just. Yeah, it's very, you know, typical that he would come to the Sixers and just fall apart.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Unbelievable, dude. Yeah. And this year was he said he was going to let the you know, you've bullied me. Now you're going to see the bully. And then someone asked me, what was your favorite Paul George Sixers moment? And I said, the first half of our preseason game in Iowa against the Minnesota Timberwolves that was not even on television. We had to watch a stream of it online.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Can I go opposite here where when they play I don't like the team and when they're out I love to watch the team? Can I do that? Who is that? Kyle Kuzma with the Wizards. Kyle Kuzma with the Wizards this season has been one of the most unenjoyed. I literally don't watch the games when he plays because he wants to take 20 shots a game. He thinks he's LeBron and
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Seeing all of their young players to start this season when he was injured, you know, look, I never want guys to get injured, but when he was out of the lineup, it was like so refreshing to see like Bilal showing steps as a on-ball creator and Bub Carrington getting to cook and Jordan Poole was even... was even playing off the ball and playing some of his best career post-Warriors that he's had.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And it was so enjoyable just to see, like, for Wizards fans that have just been so tortured for so long. They haven't had a 50-win season since the 70s, I think.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
To have this, like, little glimmer of hope that they had for those games where it looked like Bilal was a future star forever. was, you know, blossoming into the starting level point guard. Sar was showing things on defense, even if the offense is still really rough. And then to just have all that taken away from them just to watch Kyle Kuzma come out there and just think that
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He is an all star, a guy that they probably should have traded a year ago, to be honest. So that that's my answer. I look, I try not to be mean here, but I think that Kyle Kuzma is happy in D.C. doing doing what he's doing. And I love their young players and I'm excited for their future.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So back to Trill. I'm just going to take the obvious one. Jokic is like, I mean, you've seen the stats, right? Where when he doesn't play, they're the worst offense in NBA history. And when he does play, they're the best offense in NBA history.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I feel like that is, I think right now what he's having, look, obviously as an affiliate guy, I had to back up and bead for years, but now it's just got to the point where it's like, Jokic is maybe having the best offensive season of all time. And when you watch the nuggets without him, especially with like obviously post-injury or whatever Jamal Murray's dealing with.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He was always never able to scale up, but it's even tougher to watch now that he's not the same that he once was. And outside of a random, you know, Michael Porter Jr. game like they had the other night against the beat-up Pelicans, there's just not a ton to glom onto that is a lot of fun to watch from the –
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Nuggets and everything works so perfectly when he plays and nothing works when he doesn't play. So I definitely would have to. I would definitely have to take you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Not watching the list that we did the other day where we were talking about potential Cam Thomas. Yeah. Do you have that in front of you? I don't have the exact list, but it was essentially every player that has shot at least like fifty nine true shooting and is averaging like twenty five points per thirty six or whatever it was. Yeah. Was an all NBA player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
It was literally Giannis Jokic, SGA, Karl-Anthony Towns this season. Like you were like reading off and then Cam Thomas was also on the list. He's on the list. Because basically he was a player that if you were to like do a 2K build of him, you just put all of his chips and all of his points into tough shot making. Yeah. And he has, I will admit, he's gotten a little bit more aware this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Like he's shooting more threes instead of long twos. He's getting to the rim a little bit more often. He's passing a little bit more, a little bit. That's all we ask from Cam Thomas. And I do think that there's a world where he could just be on a team and just be, I think we talked about like maybe the Orlando magic or I joked on the podcast, like why can't the Sixers use Cam Thomas?
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Like we have the worst offense in the NBA. Could it hurt? Like, could it hurt just to have a guy who can at least take over games like that? Coming off, at least coming off your bench at a minimum. So maybe maybe there is maybe there's more to Cam Thomas, man. Like, I don't know. Like he has pedigree. He look, he is the Oak Hill scoring record.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He was off a freshman off SEC as a freshman in college and then has gotten better every year in the NBA, even if you don't think his game is perfect.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
No, maybe that maybe the the argument like has swayed so far because it used to be like cool to be like Lou Williams or someone in that mold. And then it became all about like you got to be efficient and you got to be, you know, like whatever.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Maybe it has swayed so far in the other direction that Cam Thomas is going to recorrect this whole argument and kind of rethink about how we think about this thing. But no, you're right. I don't think there's anyone that would at least be this efficient that people would would kind of, you know, be like a punching bag.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I remember after the trade, like literally doing a side by side on the podcast and being like, look, I'm not saying that he's Donovan Mitchell, but if you look at their age 21 seasons before he got hurt, they were almost identical side by side. So I was like, maybe Danny H is cooking here. Little did I know Laurie Markin was the one that would actually become the all star from that trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
The highs of Cam Thomas are unlike many players, I would say. Like the highs, like I literally joke, like you catch him on any given night and you're like, oh, this is an MVP candidate. You're like, he'll score 40 on like and miss like three shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Yeah, it is wild. OK, Trill, who is your final pick? So I thought a lot about this and this is more projecting than it is actual because we haven't seen it, to be honest. Like this player is played basically in every game this year. And actually, the funniest thing about James Harden in the Clippers this season. And I know people don't think about James Harden when they think about watchability.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Right. But the funniest thing about them is that going into the last game, at least the Clippers were losing the James Harden minutes. Their offense was better when he sat and their defense was elite when he sat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
But he is doing just enough to keep them in these games against starting level units, like when they play against the Warriors and when they play against teams that are like actually legitimately competitive, that the bench units then come in and kind of, you know, can can take over from there and win those other minutes against other benches because they're kind of a deep team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
But who's the second best creator on the Clippers is my question. No, no, exactly. They don't have anyone who could even pretend to be James Harden. If he were to miss 10 games, they immediately become. I mean, I don't even I think literally Kevin Porter Jr. is their second best dribbler.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
on the team like they don't have any and he's been one of the worst players in the NBA this season right yeah and then you add in the fact that like everyone is working because of James Harden like Zubach is playing at an insane level playing off of Harden all these connector pieces Derek Jones Jr.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Chris Dunn Batum Norm Powell's having like a Klay Thompson level season right now because of James Harden so when he goes out of the lineup if he ever does the Clippers will become probably one of the worst teams to watch
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Oh, my God. This is actually really hard because I don't like the Sixers turn over their roster so much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
It's kind of insane. I'm going to guess Tyrese Maxey has to be on that list.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
That should give you an idea of who this player is, because I think I have an idea, but we'll see.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Furkan Korkmaz. That's why when you said Shake Milton, I was like, I have an idea that this might be Furkan because at one point they were the two longest tenured Sixers other than Joel Embiid. Oh, really? Furkan.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Ishmith. The wrong small guard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He guesses Andrew. Gosh, I just don't.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
You know what? This might be wrong, but I'm going to guess Cam Thomas.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Oh, my God. The Denver game. How could I forget? He had 39 points. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Oh, well, they wanted Wemby, right? He was the 22 draft, so that would have been tanking for Wemby in 23, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Since he asked that question, I'm going to guess Joel Embiid.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I gave you the Iverson one because I said earlier in the episode, I basically explained exactly what the question was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
He almost had a quadruple double, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Against the defending champion Miami Heat with LeBron.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
They had a lot of vets on that team still. Moses Malone was still on the team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I might have gotten Ja, but I definitely wouldn't have gotten Jerry Stackhouse. Cut it to one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Honestly, I forgot about Jerry Stackhouse.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
That's unreal. Their half court offense is absolutely brutal. Like watching a game, especially without Joel, is just a painful experience. Yes, I would argue they've all been painful.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Was it a foreign player? Can I get that hint? It was not. Oh, Jesus. I was because there was one random name that occasionally will float around Detroit Piston circles that I was going to say that was a foreign player. But no, I actually don't know if I know this either. And I'm like obsessed with the draft. So this is not not a good look for me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Oh, go ahead. Let me know if you give up. I don't have a guess. I literally don't even have a guess.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I would have never gotten that. You could have given me 100 guesses. I wouldn't have guessed Henry Ellenson.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Just asking his dad trivia about his son. By the way, KJ plays way better in front of his dad. His two best games of the year were against the Lakers and the Clippers this year in LA. I just want to point that out. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
Let's go. Thank you. I think Andrew beat me the other time. So I think that I'm down to one in the series if I remember correctly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I mean, you know, other than the other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? Like, Jesus, it was, you know. It has been a rough start to the season so far. Obviously, I would like to be here under better circumstances. But, you know, I feel like every time you guys have had me on in the past, it's usually been related to trades.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So it's good to be on the other side where we're just talking about, you know, potentially throwing the season into the garbage so that we don't hand a top 10 pick to your Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
You just wake up every morning and you check Jared McCain's BPM on Basketball Reference because there's nothing else to look forward to. The team is completely disorganized. You know, I've complained a lot about... just kind of looking completely unprepared for every game. And I don't know if that's on the GM or the coaching staff or, you know, the star players, to be completely honest with you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I do think that the biggest thing about this team when they built it was they built it with the idea that they would have three stars. And to be completely honest with you, I don't think any of the three stars have played like stars this season. Sure. Part of that is due to the fact that obviously Joel was out with the injury to start the year, which I had anticipated some ups and downs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I didn't think that, you know, part of the plan was that he was going to miss the first two weeks of the season and then come back and then be in and out of the lineup again. And then on top of that, you know, obviously you just stated Paul George has a second knee injury in a month and it looks like the same exact knee injury that helped him out for two weeks. So like,
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
It's basically I've talked about it. We've basically done the the Nick Nurse speed run in Toronto, but without the championship, like the first 40 games were great. We were like first 40 games were great. We everyone loved Nurse. He was maximizing the the Maxine and bead combo. The offense was top near the top of the league. It was looking like they were contenders. They were maybe one move away.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
And then everything kind of came crashing down when Joel Embiid went out of that game and tore his meniscus and ever since has truthfully not been the same. So ultimately, what this comes down to is I still think that if this team had a healthy Joel Embiid that looked like an MVP candidate and could actually play the games, they would probably be fine because everyone would be able to be.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
placed into their normal roles, even with Paul George in and out of the lineup. I think that they would be one of the better teams in the NBA, but we haven't seen that version of Joel. Paul George can never stay on the court. And to be completely honest with you, Tyrese Maxey has just not really been able to scale up in a way when those guys are out of the lineup.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
So the only thing we really have to look forward to so far this season is Jared McCain.
The Athletic NBA Daily
True Title Contenders + Are the Sixers Cooked?
I would say a lack of general skill on the roster. Yeah. I don't really know how else to put it. Unironically, I think there is at least an argument that Gershon Yabuzeli has been our second best player this year, third best player this year. And this is a player that we signed in August.