Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzy
Boston has done a masterful job of exposing 76ers weakness and inexperience, right out of playbook of bill belichek, I think Simmons will rebound today.. at 6’10 and can handle and pass the ball better than guards a foot smaller, he’s a special talent... we’ll see?
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Agree that this series really has been Sixers vs. the brilliant Brad Stevens and a quicker team with near-perfect execution. This was especially true in games 2 & 3, where a few key moves by Stevens and dumb mistakes by Sixers made all the difference. Yesterday, every time the Celts hit a scoring drought, Stevens would call time, draw up a play, and they would score off it. Even as a Sixer fan, that last lob into Horford was a thing of beauty, with a characteristically stupid swipe at the ball by Covington, who, although a great defender, has made a lot of dumb plays during this series -- and all year, for those who have been following -- aside from being 0-fer for two of these games.
Re Simmons' shooting limitations, this is no secret and hasn't stopped from scoring, but that has never been his calling card and isn't the reason that the Sixers are going to be knocked out of the playoffs. They're going out because they still lack the experience and hoops IQ to compete at this level -- not really that shocking if you think about it. They also need at least one all-star level player to move to higher levels -- that might be Fultz, or less likely Saric, but still too many unknowns to make a call. Right now, the Sixers have one too many one-way scorers (Reddick, Belinelli, to an extent Saric and Ilyasova) who can't play much D. Covington is a decent 3-and-D journeyman, but still screws up a lot despite years in the league. They have another lottery pick coming up this year, and possibly more wheeling and dealing to be done re Fultz and that pick. Still, a very promising year for this young team.