Philadelphia was projected to be among the best teams in the East, but that status appears far away after Sunday’s 25-point loss in Brooklyn, writes Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers dropped to 0-5 on the road and 6-5 overall, causing coach Brett Brown to call the performance “unacceptable” and say, “We’re not among the Eastern Conference royalty.”
He also suggested that the team’s problems stem from a roster that leans heavily on youth. For all their talent, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are young players whose NBA experience has been limited because of injuries. Markelle Fultz, the first choice in the 2017 draft, has gone through a similar experience.
“If you were to go back and just study Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, John Wall — if you took, like, 10 great players, looked at the first few years, and did some division — and say, ‘It looks like it plays out to about this,'” Brown said. “You’re going to see: It’s not soon. … It’s the reality of the ages of the people that we have.”
There’s more this morning out of Philadelphia:
- Brown is calling reserve guard T.J. McConnell a “tremendous teammate” for the way he is handling a reduction in playing time, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. McConnell got on the court for about five minutes at the end of last night’s game, following a pair of DNPs. He has dropped behind Fultz in the rotation and is averaging just 13.7 minutes per game, down from 22.4 a year ago. “As a competitor, I know it’s hard,” McConnell said. “But I have to continue being a good teammate and work hard in practice and get better and stay in shape. I’m not going to pout about it. I’m just going to be ready when my name’s called.” McConnell is in his fourth season with the team, but still doesn’t have a guarantee on his $1.6MM contract.
- Rich Hofmann of The Athletic examines the Sixers’ problems on offense and finds that the team doesn’t have enough players who can create their own shot and no reliable 3-point shooters outside of J.J. Redick. He notes that Philadelphia hasn’t found replacements for Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli, who were both lost in free agency.
- The Sixers and Celtics are both experiencing the pains of trying to work key players into their rotations, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. In Philadelphia’s case, it’s Fultz, who still hasn’t solved his shooting woes.
Coach is so full of s..t!
How lol he’s holding his team accountable and trying to make the media stop the narrative of Fultz being a bust. He has their backs but also won’t accept poor play for much longer. Those are characteristics of a good coach.
Fultz is a bust. Enough patience. That’s the burden of being a 1 overall, and he just sucks.
So you are basing this on a 20 game sample? You have such hate for fultz it’s astonishing. Give the kid a chance. He may never be a superstar, but it’s hard to call him a bust after such a small sample. Don’t get me wrong, his shot looks broken and his confidence is shook…but he deserves a chance to prove himself
I’m basing this on his draft position and what he had to give up to get him. If you go #1 overall, and we gave up ANOTHER #1 for the right to get you, you better be a pretty darned good player. But at this point, he looks like a role player at best. That, to me, is a draft slot bust.
Yeah the shoulder looks like it’s still bothering him but he looks like a great player otherwise, if he could ever get that jump shot working everyone would be so quick to stop calling him a bust.
He has shown zero sign of being a difference maker let alone a #1 overall pick. He lacks any confidence on the court and especially his jump shot. Is he worth Tatum and this years Kings unprotected #1? Nobody in their right mind can say yes. However I don’t blame Fultz as much as I blame the Collangellos and the commissioner that forced them on the 76ers.
He’s right about the 3 point shooting. Simmons hasn’t taken one yet. Fultz took 4 a couple games and that’s it. Teams don’t have to guard the perimeter when they play.
We have a point forward that can’t shoot. We have a second year guard that can’t shoot. TJ should be starting over adults. Bottom line is the Sixers have a flawed roster. Danny Ainge fleeced them in the Fultz trade. With two number one overall picks and a number three in the first round that should have been number one, they should be starting to dominate teams and they are not!
It honestly depends where this pick lands theirs and Sacramentos. Right now its pick #19 so honestly that is nothing.
How did the sixers get fleeced? Boston was taking Tatum regardless, at least that’s what has been reported. So then it comes down to lakers taking fultz or ball. And to be honest, I’d rather have fultz. So they gave up most likely a late lotto pick to move up and get the guy they felt was best for their team. Maybe if they stay at 3 they take fox over ball…but still hard to predict. If Sacramento ends up outside the top 7/8 picks, i am perfectly ok with the gamble and it’s far from a fleecing. The only way you can label it that is if you think Boston takes fultz at 1 and the sixers take Tatum at 3.
With that logic..If the Celts were taking Tatum all along and the Lakers were taking Ball along then the 76ers traded away the Kings pick for a guy they could have just taken at 3. Getting nothing for something is the definition of fleecing.
Dario looks burnt out playing year round every year.