Philadelphia 76ers
The 2022-23 Philadelphia 76ers can be defined by another loss in the second round.
What did we learn?
Embiid finally got his MVP.
But the playoffs were a different story once again.
During the regular season, Joel Embiid went on another scoring rampage, leading the league in scoring for a second straight season. This time he was up to 33.1 points per game and 58.7 percent on 2s, to go along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 10 free throws a night.
Embiid was a menace with three 50-point games and a whopping 13 40-point outings, including a monster 47 points and 18 rebounds against Jokic, a game that saw the Sixers beat the Nuggets behind a huge second-half comeback.
It was all enough to get Embiid his coveted MVP at long last.
In the second round of the playoffs, however, Embiid and the Sixers were not able to get over the second-round hump for the fifth time in the last six years. (The outlier was a loss in the first round.)
They were right there, too.
Up 3-2 on the Celtics with Game 6 in Philly. Leading by 2 with six minutes left. And then an ice-cold Tatum drilled four 3s while the Sixers made one field goal the entire rest of the game.
That momentum carried over to Game 7 as the C’s walloped the Sixers with Tatum scoring 51 and a 33 to 10 third quarter burying Philly’s season. Embiid scored 26 points in Game 6 and just 15 points in Game 7. He was banged up with a sprained knee that kept him out of Game 1 entirely.
Harden had two magnificent games in the Celtics series. His 45 points in Game 1 and his 42 points in Game 4 both led to Philly wins. But he no-showed in the elimination games once again. Harden went 3-for-11 in Game 7 which is actually an improvement from his usual 2-for-11 elimination game performance.
Doc couldn’t close out a 3-2 lead AGAIN. It was the 10th time that Doc has lost a Game 7. (You know it’s bad if Ben Simmons is trolling online.)
Doc was fired a few days after the Game 7 blowout loss in Boston.
In the end, it was the same old Sixers story, which brings forth changes and uncertainty.
Regular-season accolades are cool and all, but legacies are defined in the postseason.
Embiid got his MVP, but was it worth it?
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Additional Notes
Tyrese Maxey had some fantastic games and moments. He does have his deficiencies and might not be a playoff guy yet, but he has the talent and drive to keep getting better.
P.J. Tucker, as always, was about that life. He was the only one keeping the Sixers in the first half of Game 7 with those corner 3s.
Tobias Harris… A good role player, but not a $37 million player.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Philly seems destined to roll. Over 51 wins.
Sixers 2022-23 record: (54-28)
Yes indeed.
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What’s Next?
If it seemed like the Sixers were quiet on draft night, it’s because they did not make a selection.
Free agents here include Shake Milton, Georges Niang, Jalen McDaniels and player options for Montrezl Harrell and Danuel House. Paul Reed is a restricted free agent along with Slam Dunk Champ Mac McClung.
Doc is out and Nick Nurse is IN. Both Doc and Brett Brown before him got three shots at the playoffs with Embiid with no Eastern Conference Finals to show for it. Let’s see if Nurse can get Philly over the hump.
The Harden predicament. Will The Beard return for another go at it, or will he bail for Houston, choosing fun over the Philly pressure? And how much money and years is the right amount?
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