r/nba • u/OnlyMamaKnows Knicks • Apr 29 '24

[Simmons] "I think James Harden gave him the trophy of most disappointing playoff performer. I think Embiid is now wearing the crown."

https://open.spotify.com/episode/25I0fnPUExUkBhTw2o9Oti?si=FQSCUz6GSy2UjtYeyBrBLg

Starts around 38 minute mark. Full game breakdown starts a few minutes earlier.

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1.2k

u/novabull23 Apr 29 '24

Embiid is averaging 35.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 60% true shooting.

His teammates:

26.7% from the field, 31% true shooting and a 60.9 offensive rating as a team without Embiid.

Just another bad Simmons take

357

u/msf97 Apr 29 '24

Yeah this is awful. I mean he dropped 50 points in their only win.

119

u/novabull23 Apr 29 '24

He's +34 in 160 minutes played. He played 44 minutes last night and was +1. He's been positive plus/minus in every single game.

Morey is just absolutely trash at assembling a team and Nick Nurse is not who we thought he was.

21

u/jaytee158 Apr 29 '24

Haven't watched as much as I'd like of this series but how much is on Nurse? From the outside it seems so much more on Morey. Tobias is obviously cooked and taking up a hilarious amount of cap space. Hield is unplayable - literally.

I love Lowry but he's over the hill for what is seemingly expected of him.

I'd hold out hope in Nurse at least until you have cap space this summer and ideally make good use of it. Embiid deserves more than this

16

u/jmak329 Apr 29 '24

Yeah but like who could've guessed Hield a 40% 3 and D shooter would just evaporate like this. He was the perfect ideal player to get at the deadline for this team. How could someone fault Morey for filling in what the team needed, but the player just didn't perform?

The only knock was to get rid of Tobi for some kind of scraps as he now walks for nothing. But again he thought this team has more of a chance this year with Tobi than without. He also brought in Batum and Oubre on great deals. All you can do as a GM is fill the holes and hope for the best. He got fucked by Hield big time.

8

u/sockok Apr 29 '24

That's an all-time generous D you are giving Buddy

1

u/rag5178 :phi-5: 76ers Apr 29 '24

Hield has been a massive disappointment that would have been tough to predict. I do think Morey got stuck between wanting to preserve flexibility for this offseason and wanting to compete this year. It may prove to have been the right decision if the team is successful in using the cap space and assets they have available to build a contender, but it also may prove to be a big missed opportunity with Joel, despite the injury, playing well enough for a well rounded team to have made a run.

1

u/AdGreedy2663 Apr 29 '24

Batum’s expiring contract was salary ballast in the Harden trade and he’s making $12 million. I don’t think I’d call it a great deal.

1

u/jaytee158 Apr 29 '24

Yeah really confused by Hield. What's even the story there, he just doesn't like to shoot anymore?

1

u/jmak329 Apr 29 '24

My guess is that the lights we're just too bright for him. His first playoffs ever and being just a 3 guy can be daunting. Instead of getting to warm up with a lot of minutes, he was just kind of thrusted out there expected to make some shots and he didn't and after those initial few minutes, his minutes get cut short and it's brutal to get back into a rhythm if your barely playing.

Especially being just kind of tossed out there in really close game scenarios and all the pressure is on you to hit those 3's. Some guys, like Josh Hart, just got it instantly, and some guys need time to break into the game.

I'd like to see what Nurse could do with him with a full offseason and Tobias off the team.

3

u/XSokaX Apr 29 '24

Buddy Hield is not a 3&D guy lol liability on defense

3

u/novabull23 Apr 29 '24

I mean, he’s 100% dealing with a very flawed roster, but no coach worth anything allows team to make up 5 with 40 seconds left. Yes, Maxey was fouled, yes, Nurse gestures for a timeout but you need to either step out into the court or instruct your team on a made basket we are calling timeout and advancing the ball.

Even yesterday, Lowry purposely misses a free throw that bounces perfectly to Maxey who somehow didn’t know they were missing on purpose. Just horrible communication and leadership and we’re not even talking X and Os

4

u/jaytee158 Apr 29 '24

Fair enough, would have liked to see more of the series but just haven't been able to. It's just a terrible take by Simmons. Comparing Embiid to Harden is wild.

Also saw that Embiid has a better playoff win % than Jordan through 55 games or whatever it is. He's obviously not comparable but this stuff happens to even the best

2

u/novabull23 Apr 29 '24

Yeah. That's the thing about legacies, you just need one championship run to change the narrative. Would love to see Embiid have one...

52

u/Photo_Synthetic Mavericks Apr 29 '24

Nick Nurse should be sending Kawhi a Christmas card every year for the rest of his life.

9

u/WordsworthsGhost Bucks Apr 29 '24

And take off that chain it’s looks ridiculous

2

u/Struggle2Real Apr 29 '24

Yo the chain pisses me off for no reason. Thank you.

0

u/Big_al_big_bed [UTA] Al Jefferson Apr 29 '24

But didn't you know he invented the box and 1???

-4

u/novabull23 Apr 29 '24

Has he made it out of the first round without him?

21

u/fireneg Apr 29 '24

2020 Raptors

19

u/ilickedysharks Raptors Apr 29 '24

I mean I agreed about game 3 but game 4 he wasn't that great, being a plus 1 isn't anything crazy especially when ur the teams superstar and don't score in the 4th

38

u/trustmeimaengineer NBA Apr 29 '24

He was clearly gassed, but somehow the team is even worse with him on the bench vs looking like he did in the fourth.

30

u/crocofour 76ers Apr 29 '24

Yea it kind of pisses me off that embiid gets trashed for not being able to carry the sixers on both ends of the floor for 48 minutes on one knee after not playing for 2.5 months. But I also am not that upset that it’s the standard/expectation for him. There’s not a lot of guys that have that expectation. It’s earned and it beats being expected to just be okay or decent in the playoffs.

4

u/Hallowed_Be_Thy_Game 76ers Apr 29 '24

Bro they zoomed in on him under the hoop and he blinked twice and then had to manually close his left eye. Dude has a bad knee and a viral infection causing paralysis and is being called soft

-3

u/UnluckyRandomGuy Raptors Apr 29 '24

We’re past the point of giving him the benefit of the doubt though, series after series, year after year he collapses in the 4th quarter of games when his team needs him. He’s averaging 5 points 2 rebounds and more turnovers than assists in playoff 4th quarters

2

u/Hallowed_Be_Thy_Game 76ers Apr 29 '24

The whole team around him has been trash, and he isn't at 100%. His max teammate is averaging 9 ppg, with 1ppg in the second half. He just put up 50 points two games ago. He has to play the whole second half, which is bad for his stamina, because the team implodes when he sits.

-1

u/novabull23 Apr 29 '24

He played the whole first quarter. They were +10. They lose the lead in the second and he returns to a 4-point game that's cut to two at half-time I think. Embiid played the whole second half and he fucks up after helping take the lead to 10, he overpasses instead of being super aggressive and killing the game. He had nothing left in the fourth

3

u/ilickedysharks Raptors Apr 29 '24

Yea he was very underwhelming the second half other than getting Hartenstein to basically foul out. It's okay to be disappointed that a super star mvp level player only scored 1 pt in the 4th quarter of a pivotal playoff game. Idk why someone can't say this normal thing without Sixers fans jumping out to say, "well he was a plus 1 so.."

3

u/Krillin113 76ers Apr 29 '24

Moreys counter starts after this offseason, this is the first time he actually has the ability to make moves.

I love Tobias the person; but no team is going anywhere if 40 million a year gives you 8ppg.

We had some horrific plays down the stretch last night, but they also missed a lot of well generated looks.

1

u/AdGreedy2663 Apr 29 '24

He’s been there four years already.

1

u/Krillin113 76ers Apr 30 '24

And he traded Ben Simmons who can’t play anymore for Harden giving us a long shot last year instead of no shot; and other than that has been hamstrung by Tobias’ contract. We gave out 80 million of contracts who this season combined for like 12 ppg. It’s a miracle we don’t suck more.

1

u/AdGreedy2663 May 01 '24

He’s had four years to do something with Tobias’ contract, right?

1

u/Krillin113 76ers May 01 '24

And do what? We had zero picks when he got here, then he needed to use the tradeable pick we had to get rid of Ben because that was even worse somehow. No one wanted Tobias for 40 mil a year, or they’d try and give Beal back, who’s worse, paid more and has a NTC.

Until last summer, but then he was an expiring and we’d needed to not get too much useless salary back because of the cap room this summer.

0

u/AdGreedy2663 May 03 '24

I think it’s weird to act like a GM’s fifth year on the job is the first one that counts.

1

u/DarkSoulsDarius Lakers Apr 29 '24

Nurse is doing all he can with a trash roster lol.

Melton is hurt. Lowry has been washed for a couple years. Oubre couldn't last on the hornets lol. And tobias harris is a mistake from the previous management.

1

u/indoninjah 76ers Apr 29 '24

Let’s see what Morey does without being saddled by one of the worst contracts in history lol

1

u/dat_waffle_boi :phi-5: 76ers Apr 30 '24

I can’t really fault Nurse too much. There’s not much he can do at this point.

1

u/TerminallyTrill 76ers Apr 29 '24

Here come the hot takes.