It’s Thursday, Feb. 14 – here’s what to watch the rest of the week
1. Same Old Sixers
After trading for Tobias Harris last week, the Philadelphia 76ers have a starting line-up that is only rivaled by Golden State’s. Harris not only gives them badly needed production from the power forward spot, but adds another three-point threat to a line-up that has its floor spacing limited by PG Ben Simmons.
So why is Philly still having issues beating the best teams in the East?
The Sixers are a combined 1-7 against the Raptors, Bucks and Celtics this season. Their one win came at home on Dec. 22 against a Raptors squad playing without Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Jonas Valanciunas.
The struggles against the Celtics are especially troubling – Boston absolutely owns the Sixers as of recent. Philly is 2-17 against Boston in their last 19 regular season match-ups, and 1-6 since having the duo of Simmons and Embiid out on the court. In the playoffs last season, Boston easily knocked Philly out of the Eastern Conference semifinals in five. The constant thread that seems to emerge in each meeting is that Brad Stevens is thoroughly outcoaching Brett Brown.
To be fair, Stevens outcoaches almost everyone. But Tuesday’s victory over the Sixers in Philadelphia came with no Kyrie Irving. And the Celtics thoroughly outclassed the Sixers in last year’s playoffs with no Kyrie or Gordon Hayward. As the Sixers continue to elevate their talent, the expectations spike as well. Brett Brown is clearly not getting the type of consistent return from his players that he should be, and who knows how much time he has left to fix that.
Conversely, the Sixers have dominated the Western Conference with a 16-6 record. While they can’t seem to figure things out on their own coast, they have a signature win this season in Oakland, and already own season sweeps of the Lakers, Jazz, and Clippers (back when they were good).
Again, this makes me think that Brett Brown is hurting the Sixers rather than helping them. I firmly believe that match-ups between teams that play each other infrequently rely more on talent than scheming, as the two teams have far less familiarity with each other. But I don’t need to throw any more mud at Coach Brown.
Philly is going to have a miserable offseason if they once again can’t make it past the second round of the playoffs. After the All-Star break, they have two games against the Bucks and one against the Celtics remaining. The Sixers need to use those to make a big statement.
2. Hope for the Hawks
Could it possibly be that Atlanta is suddenly a solid basketball team?
Coming into the season, the Hawks were thought to field one of the worst rosters in the NBA. That’s probably still the case. But after starting the season 6-22, they’re 13-16 in their last 29. In that span, they’ve beaten the Heat, Thunder, and Lakers at home, and the Pistons, Wolves, Sixers, and Clippers on the road.
Who knows if this team will ever forgive itself for trading away Luka Doncic roughly 10 minutes after drafting him, but Trae Young is finally playing like the player Atlanta thought it was getting. In his last 10 games, Young is averaging 21.8 points and 8.8 assists while shooting 42 percent from three-point land. His three-point shooting for the season still stands at an abysmal 31.4 percent, so that should give you an indication of how bad he’d previously been.
It was surprising not to see the Hawks selling off their non-Trae Young pieces at the deadline, as this team is obviously still in complete rebuild mode. But it looks as thought this team at least has a direction under head coach Lloyd Pierce.
3. All-Star Game Hype
This will be the final Starting 5 before the NBA revels in its All-Star game festivities this weekend in Charlotte. Accordingly, I feel I need to give it at least some sort of love.
While not quite as bad as the Pro Bowl, the NBA’s All-Star game is a snooze. The league has consistently tinkered with the format over the past few years, and for all I know, next year’s game will be played on horseback.
You know by now not to expect any defense – the two teams have combined to average 345 ppg over the last three years. So what should you watch for? Beats me. The biggest storylines usually have nothing to do with the quality of play. In 2018, it was Fergie’s delivery of the National Anthem as a drugged-up lounge singer. In 2017, it was KD’s alley-oop to Russ, just like old times (Boogie Cousins was also traded to the Pelicans during the game). In 2016, it was the hilarious presence of Tyronn Lue as the “best” coach in the East.
If I had to guess, this year it will be LeBron making the rounds to as many players as possible, begging them to come to Los Angeles. Magic’s probably already reached out to all of them anyway.
4. D-Wade’s Jersey Exchange
Dwayne Wade’s final season has seen him swap jerseys with one player on the opposing team after each game. The two pose for a (sometimes shirtless) photo together, and everyone coos. It’s a fun thing to watch.
Here are some of the funnier dudes to get one of D-Wade’s sweaty jerseys this season.
Oct. 17 – Wade’s “One Last Dance” tour got began with a jersey swap with the legendary Nikola Vucevic in Orlando.
Oct. 24 – This is probably my favorite one. The Knicks are so embarrassingly talent-deprived that after the game, Wade literally gave his jersey to Knicks head coach David Fizdale. In fairness, the two have a close relationship from Fizdale’s time as an assistant coach on the Heat, but I chose to focus on other factors.
Oct. 29 – Iman Shumpert and Wade swapped jerseys after the Kings’ 123-113 victory in Miami. Wade also asked if Shumpert could spare any of his wife’s clothing.
Dec. 12 – Jae Crowder gave Wade his #99 jersey, presumably after reminding him that they were briefly teammates last season.
Jan. 19 – Wade swaps jerseys with Benny the Bull, who had earlier come off the bench for 11 points and 4 rebounds.
5. Did You Know?
The NBA has handed out its Defensive Player of the Year award 36 times. Only six times has it gone to a guard, and not since Gary “The Glove” Payton in 1995-96. The award has unfortunately become a “Best Defensive Big Man of the Year” recently.
The other five besides Payton? Sidney Moncrief (twice), Alvin Robertson (who has now officially made his second appearance in the Did You Know? column), Michael Cooper (who was admittedly a Guard/Forward combo), and Michael Jordan (in one of the years he also won MVP). And Payton remains the only point guard to ever win it.
