mp3 wrote:I watched a little bit of the Spurs vs Sixers game and you just get the feel that they are not even trying to win, only Okafor was putting in full effort like he's going for ROY
mp3 wrote:Okay sorry Doc how about....
I watched the Sixers vs [insert team name here] and it was like they were not even trying get to win.
Then you weren't paying any attention or you're confusing lack of skill with lack of effort. Which, even then, would be odd after the Spurs game. After a rough start, Philly managed to hang around the whole time until the 3rd quarter when San Antonio went on a run and entered the 4th with a 16-point lead... except the Sixers didn't give up, hustled their way back and cut the lead to just 4 at one point. Their hopes of pulling out the upset were ultimately dashed by poor execution down the stretch, not by lack of trying. But since you watched the game, I shouldn't need to tell you all this, right?
A big reason for why they're still winless would be because almost half of their roster has been hurt. All this time Philly has been playing without Covington (supposed to return today vs DAL), Wroten, Marshall, Landry, and - of course - Embiid. Currently, Holmes is hurt as well which makes undrafted rookie Christian Wood the only backup bigman.
Stauskas is making me sick with bricking open shot after open shot. Noel is struggling, he's only beginning to get used to playing PF. Okafor is already a really good post scorer, but has a long way to go on the defensive end. Grant has improved from last season. McConnell is exceeding expectations. Canaan just sucks.
Honestly, the only thing that worries me right now is that the defense has predictably regressed with the insertion of Okafor and moving Noel further away from the rim, which diminishes his impact. Hopefully they figure it out as the season goes on. The offensive problems are mostly incompetent guards and not enough outside shooting, with the guy who's supposed to be our best shooter (in Covington's absence) looking like he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat in the middle of an ocean. And the starting lineup being two rookies and three sophmores probably isn't helping.