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NBA  |  Enough with sitting back, Sixers need to strike with iron hot now

6/29/2017

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With the Sixers very light on shooting touch, acquiring free-agent guard J.J. Redick, who drained 3-pointers at a 43-percent clip this past season while averaging 15 points per game, would be a smart move for the club.
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By Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

The condition is as real as it is ill-conceived.

Beaten down by losses, lost causes and lost promises not just over the past three seasons, but more like the past three decades, 76ers fans, not to mention the media who cover them, have become immune to the concept of urgency, or taking the foot off the break and going for it, or, simply, striking while the iron is hot.

Indeed, patience may be a virtue in life. But, in pro sports? Umm, not so much.

Not if you hope to be relevant in today’s NBA. Or successful. Or even happy.

OK, biting the collective tongue wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Sixer Nation for the majority of Sam Hinkie’s mediocre-to dumpster fire-to contender philosophical reign and Bryan Colangelo’s pass-the-baton takeover as GM since.

But, now, with so many pieces in place after all the assets-building, lottery-winning and talent-acquiring, do we really have to sit back and, go, well, maybe it would be wise to hold off on signing J.J. Redick or Andre Iguodala or some other potentially valuable free agent, that the team really isn’t going to be good for a few years, that it’ll take some time to gel, etc.?

That we all just need to be … patient.

Yo, get real.

The waiting game is over – or certainly needs to be. Otherwise it’s all just devolving into some mutated state of fear-of-change/fear-of-failure self-torture. The squad, the coaching staff, the front office, you … all have paid enough mind-numbing, twiddling-thumbs dues. To last a friggin’ lifetime.

If you’re gonna adhere to that plan for the future ad nauseam, guess what, you’re going to remain in a perpetual state of “sit tight, let things develop” for all eternity, whereby it’s a never-ending cycle of being OK with a rebuild, a restructure, a start-over or any other perpetual state that yields, well, nothing of substance.

Blunt honesty: Constructing your lineup over what Joel Embiid may be in 3-4 years from now is counting heavily on borrowed time – with no price tag. The big fella has played 31 games since being drafted three years ago – and the lost minutes weren’t because of him being stashed away in Europe or his home country of Cameroon merely as a safety precaution. Thanks to a multitude of back and foot issues, dating as far back to his pre-draft days at the University of Kansas, he just wasn’t available.

Last year’s top overall pick in the NBA Draft, Ben Simmons? Hey, he missed the entire 2016-17 campaign courtesy of a broken bone in his foot.

This year’s, Markelle Fultz? Dude missed six his final eight games with the University of Washington this past season due to a knee problem.

In short, you wanna cash in these stocks while you have them, or while they’re still standing.

No 3- to 5-year plan from this point. Gotta get to it … NOW.

Shake it off, people. It really is OK to let the mind wander and not feel the need to blurt out timid predictions of sub-40 as a win total for next season.

This group of players, even without the addition of quality veterans such as Redick or Iguodala, has every business surpassing the .500 mark during an 82-game season. With either being added, or, preferably, both, the Sixers legitimately turn into an Eastern Conference contender.

Winner? Maybe not. But contender, yes.

They are that close. How about we stop being afraid of owning that?

Screw patience, and screw your superstitions with thinking that being positive and progressive equates to an automatic jinxing of the whole process.
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OUTSIDE SHOTS

► Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets makes no sense here. It goes beyond the L.A. Clippers being crazy with letting the face of their franchise go and the “fit” seeming awkward at best.

Thing is, James Harden ain’t just going to hand over the ball to Paul – despite what the likes of Screamin' A believe. The guy completely remade his game from scorer to floor general who can score, and, in the process, taken his status from all-star to surefire Hall of Famer. Seriously.

Yours truly may have been adamant about Russell Westbrook being the clear-cut MVP all season, but there is no denying that Harden was a rock-solid No. 2 in that department, and pretty much a 1 any other season with the type of performance he gave.

Paul, clearly, is the more natural point man. It’s what he born to play. It’s completely natural for him. Sweet. Smooth. Almost machine-line in terms of precision and ingenuity.

But Harden proved to be truly special in recording a campaign almost the equal of Westbrook’s historic 2016-17, and he did while handling the ball, statistically, even more than Paul.

​No, he will not give up the rock that easy. Nor should he … which is why Wednesday’s trade made little to no sense.

► Cannot stand Carmelo Anthony’s game. Just reeks of stats and no substance. However, for some reason, kinda have the vibe he’d excel in Cleveland … obviously, thanks to being under the influence of LeBron James then.

Put his shooting touch, desire to score and size (people forget Melo is 6-8, 240) on the Cavaliers this season and, gotta say, not so sure we’re talking about a Golden State dynasty still weeks after the latest Finals were completed.

Not that he’s a better player than Kevin Love, the likely “ousted” should a deal go down, at this point. He just remains a more aggressive, cocksure one. Also a more consistent one.

► If Boston pulls things off in which it gets both Paul George and Gordon Hayward this summer, no apologies ever need to be made to the Celtics fan base for trading the No. 1 pick to Philly. Heck, if the Eastern Conference runners-up get either one, forget any “sorry.”

They’d have trumped any deal made thus far this summer, including their own with Philly or the one that sent Paul to Houston. George has been a known commodity for years and Hayward has skyrocketed from nice player to near-superstar.

Either would supply Boston the firepower it was sorely lacking in the playoffs against LeBron and Co.

► Phil Jackson got shown the door in New York? Yo, Knicks, it’s about damn time …
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NBA  |  Westbrook a worthy MVP choice despite debates to the contrary

6/27/2017

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Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the entire 2016-17 season while guiding Oklahoma City into the postseason.
By Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

It was a silly debate.

Driven strictly by personality preference, or shooting percentage preference, or playing style preference, or, my favorite of all, lack of knowledge and its classic partner, going along with the pack.

​C’mon, seriously, no one – in their right mind, if they did any “homework” or paid attention whatsoever – could have legitimately thought, or pushed for, someone other than Russell Westbrook as the NBA most valuable player award since, oh, the all-star break.

James Harden. Kawhi Leonard. Kevin Durant. Steph Curry. LeBron James. You heard them all being pitched to varying degrees at certain junctures since mid-February as not only worthy contenders to Oklahoma City point guard’s rightful honor for 2016-17, but better choices.

Puh-leeeze.

As Monday night’s just announcement that Westbrook had, indeed, “earned” the hardware, this debate was a fait accompli for months before the campaign ended.

Seriously.

The dude led the league in scoring. He set a new mark for triple-doubles in a season with 42, not to mention average a triple-double for the entire season. By comparison, he topped all the aforementioned in points, rebounds and assists … except Harden in assists, yet still finished second in the entire circuit.

Harden, his reputed chief competition, stole the show in January with a triple-double highlighted by a 50-point effort against Your Team, Your Town, Your 76ers … and then Westbrook matched that with one in March and trumped it with another in April.

Heck, for good measure, “Brodie” threw in a third – against Harden and his Houston Rockets, mind you – in the opening round of the playoffs.

Look, James is the best player in the game. Hands down. Has been. Will continue to be for some time, it appears. But no one touched Westbrook’s sustained excellence this go-‘round. The shame is that so many failed to appreciate what they were witnessing.

Forget the “statement” games or record-setting performances. The guy is the ultimate “all out, ball out” player. Living in a time that most fans bitch and moan about the lack of effort, or care, by professional athletes, you’d think “Brodie” would be a favorite of the masses.

An overwhelming favorite at that.

But, he isn’t.

Apparently, going full-on, full-time at both ends of the floor, and attacking the basket like an animal with no fear, and playing high-intensity, quality defense, isn’t as appealing to people as they’d lead you to believe.

The numbers alone were laughable: 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game. No one else compared with him there.

But when you factor in how he played, with a supporting cast that paled in comparison to those linked with his competitors, yo, get real.

Reality is, the guy deserved the MVP two years ago as well. But the dye was cast for Steph Curry that season as part of the initial christening of Golden State as the game’s new gold standard.

Westbrook wasn’t the preferred choice then.

Fortunately, this time it was too obvious he was the only one.
​

SIX SHOTS

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► No idea why rationalizations keep flying around as to why the Sixers should NOT sign free agent shooting guard J.J. Redick. Just another case of not doing your homework … and realizing this is not the same Redick who entered the league as another privileged Duke product.

The kid has completely remade his game and his body … all the while remaining a top-notch sharpshooter whose stroke isn’t out of line with being mentioned in the same breath as those belonging to Steph Curry or Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant.

Redick hasn’t averaged less than 15 points per game since 2013, hasn’t shot less than 43 percent from distance since 2014 or 88 from the charity stripe since 2011.

In short, he’s an improving player and not the lost soul on defense his detractors make him out to be. Nope, he’s chiseled his frame into being, at worst, a serviceable player on that side of the ball.

So, freakin’ sign him. The Sixers need shooters more than anything else right now.

► Got no issue with Philly’s NBA franchise going 0-for-2 in the Rookie of the Year sweepstakes for 2016-17. Both Joel Embiid and Dario Saric fell to Milwaukee’s Malcolm Brogdon.

Yeah, Embiid’s stats were eye-catching. Over a 31-game stint in an 82-game season. Sorry, that eclipses him from being a legit ROY anyway.

Saric? Had better stats on the surface than Brogdon, too. More points and more rebounds.

But Brogdon was a double-digit scorer, too. He also averaged more assists, shot better from the floor, including 3-point land, and the foul line … and he’s a front-line, no-holds-barred defensive stopper.

Plus, he played for a postseason-qualifier in the Bucks. Meaning he played in a lot more games that mattered than either Saric or Embiid.

► With word seeping out Tuesday that former Sixer/current free agent Andre Iguodala was a target of the team right now, the naysayers were out in full force.

Yo, give it a rest. The guy was a very good player here.

He has been an extremely good role player with Golden State. He remains a defensive stopper. He is an incredible athlete and who still is one of the game’s great finishers – phenomenal LeBron James’ block in Game 7 of last year’s NBA Finals notwithstanding.
​
He’d be a valuable asset – again – to the Sixers if added to the roster.

​Just don’t sign him instead of Redick. 

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NBA  |  Draft may yield No. 1 pick for Sixers, but they still have work to do

6/21/2017

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By Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Can it just get here already?

With each passing minute since the 76ers apparently stripped Boston of its shorts in a trade made official Monday, the impact of what will likely yield Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 pick has grown smaller and smaller.

Oh, 2017 NBA Draft, you fickle bee …

Not for nothing, but ever since Bryan Colangelo and Co. reportedly “schooled” master wheeler-dealer Danny Ainge, the buzz has been elsewhere. It’s like the acquisition started depreciating the moment it touched down, much like a new vehicle immediately after purchase.

Extenuating factors haven’t exactly helped, either.

Not with rumors of LeBron James bolting Cleveland being reported, essentially, as fact, right along with actual facts such as Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Kristaps Porzingis being on the trading block, and, oh, yeah, best “white men CAN jump (and ball)” talent Gordon Hayward being available via free agency.

With Boston a possible landing spot for one, or two, of them.

Ugh. So much for the latest steal of the century.

Thing is, there was/is nothing inherently wrong with what the Sixers did. Moving up to get a guy they want, hey, should be applauded. It’s a trend that, remembering Eagles big cheese Howie Roseman’s moves to get Carson Wentz at No. 2 in the 2016 NFL Draft, just might be taking hold in Philly.

About damn time …

But, what are we talking about here with Fultz? Just what are the Sixers getting?

We’re not talking the undisputed, hands-down, everyone-loves top talent available as the clock ticks down to Thursday night’s draft. Even to those beholden to hyperbolic bluster in differentiating players, Fultz, at best, is a nothing more than a consensus favorite … almost in the cautiously optimistic vein.

As far as the Sixers go, he brings one critical element to their roster that is critically lacking: shooting ability. From the floor, mind you. He’s somewhere between Wilt for his career and LeBron circa 2017 from the foul line – which is a red flag, if anything, when considering how much Fultz may have the ball in his hands.

Make no mistake, though, his outside marksmanship would be of utmost value to the team. They have more than enough players will to shoot it from distance, with even big men Dario Saric and Joel Embiid cocked and loaded from beyond the arc just about every other trip down the floor.

But someone who can really stroke it? No. That’s been sorely missed among the layers of brick bestowed upon the backboard in recent seasons, right along with all the losses.

The concern here, though, is that the Sixers’ brass is fooled into thinking that acquiring Fultz takes care of the team’s shooting woes. It’s potentially a nice start to fixing the problem.

As the recently completed NBA Finals showed, you need more than one sharpshooter on your squad to do some real damage. Sometimes more than two.

With that, you’d hope the Sixers would join the likes of those in the market for Butler, Hayward et al. Not even saying they have to go as big time. In fact, they’d be better off focusing on guys such as J.J. Redick, whose one recognizable talent is being able to bury the outsider jumper.

The guy, who, like Hayward, is a free agent, shoots 41.5 percent from “3” for his career, and has gone off for 44.0 combined the last four seasons with the L.A. Clippers while transforming himself into a solid, all-around NBA player.

For everyone who pooh-poohs Kevin Love, now that he’s being mentioned as a trade chip, keep in mind he just buried 3s at a 41.2 clip in the postseason … and he’s only 28 years old.

Point being to all this. Sure, celebrate the trade, but the Sixers need to realize they still have issues with their make-up even with adding Fultz. That is, if they have the intent of contending for a title in the coming years.


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NBA  |  Fultz? Yo, whatever happened to Simmons being the Sixers' savior?

6/18/2017

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​University of Washington combo guard Markelle Fultz (second from right), the likely No. 1 pick in Thursday night's 2017 NBA Draft, poses for a picture Saturday night after working out with, from left, Robert Covington, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, for the Philadelphia 76ers.

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By Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Got no issue with the trade.

Got no issue with it resulting in the drafting of Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

Even got no issue with it requiring the 76ers to get in bed with the hated Boston Celtics in order to make it all happen.

No matter the cost in future considerations.

Really, truly, only got one issue with the whole thing … and it seems to be a developing situation not only within the confines of the team’s front office but throughout the Delaware Valley and Sixers Nation everywhere.

That being: the subtle, but still shocking, devaluation of Ben Simmons.

Not for nothing, people, but there is, and still will be only one potentially transcendent player on the Your Team, Your Town, Your 76ers’ roster once things become official on the Fultz trade/selection front … and it ain’t gonna be the new guy or that Joel Embiid guy.

It is amazing how that seems to escape the entire Philly pro hoops following community anymore.

Embiid as The Process … huh? Yo, the social media star has serious tools, but even his staunchest supporters have known in their guts from Day One that with his health history Embiid was living each day on an NBA court on borrowed time.

The genesis for departed GM/self-proclaimed revolutionary Sam Hinkie’s process to reinvent the franchise was centered around acquiring one piece, one talent, one guy – Simmons. Yeah, yeah, assets, assets, assets, gotta stockpile those assets. Welcome to Sam’s Shell Game.

Simmons always was the goal for Hinkie. The once-in-a-lifetime player – possibly – who showed enough for the visionary among us to believe, or dream, that he could lead the Sixers not just to prominence, but prosperity, and, more important, relevancy. In town and abroad.

The danger, if it can be called that, in drafting a guy this coming Thursday who may lessen the impact of Simmons simply because he’ll take some of the ball-handling responsibility away from last year’s No. 1 pick is that we’ll be looking at a watered-down product.

It’s not that we’re going to get too much of a good thing. It’s that we’re never going to get what Simmons may have offered.

No offense to the tape measure-challenged, but it really is more fascinating to see a 6-foot-10 guy lead a fastbreak or run an offense from inbounds pass to basket than, say, someone 6-3 or 6-4 doing that – especially in slower fashion. The anomaly factor … factors.

In fan interest. In star power.

It just does.

Fultz? Hell, he’s a terrific talent. If you have any concerns, check out some YouTube videos. All highlight packages of players spin a positive tale. But the kid has elite body control – some of his attack-the-rack antics are absolutely unreal – and he can really shoot if from the floor, and distance, and he displays some serious cojones on the court.

But his playmaking ain’t anywhere near what Simmons can do. He lacks the vision and the innate “think outside the box and be super smooth with it” ability the big fella has. He also ain’t exactly lickety split out there … and will be expected to play a position – either the point or shooting guard – that kinda requires him to be a lot of the time.

If Bryan Colangelo and Co. are thinking this move erases any defensive concerns that may have arisen with Simmons sometimes getting locked into guarding smaller, quicker guys, they’re going off faulty reasoning. Fultz doesn’t display the footwork on that end of the floor to be anything more than passable.

Thing is, not against the Sixers choosing Fultz. He brings a lot of offensive firepower to the equation.

It’s fearing that choosing him will cause their further diminishing of what Simmons could be.


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NBA Finals  |  Postscript: Yo, try to keep it real with the KD craziness

6/15/2017

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NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists against the Cavaliers in five games.
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By Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

It’s more than a bit out of hand.

It’s a complete disconnect from reality, all in the name of trying to profess something new as gospel – just to be making that damn statement. That “know better than you” revelation.

Get real.

Look, we get it, Kevin Durant is a special player, a terrific talent. He, without question, was the X factor in this year’s recently completed NBA Finals.

But dominant?

Better than LeBron James?

Yo, peeps, put down the hookah pipe, please.

Seriously.

He is, in no way, either of those things.

It’s not his nature. Not his game. He’s a “play off others” performer. He’s not a “take over a game” through sheer will kind of guy.

For starters, he’s never had to be. Not in the NBA at least.

That role was handled by Russell Westbrook during KD’s entire tour at Oklahoma City, and, really, by James Harden for part of it, too. Same thing with Steph Curry this season with Golden State.

The beauty of his game is that he doesn’t, and hasn’t had to, force … anything. Durant just plays, and naturally weaves things into the flow of games – which is why often you’ll check the box score and wonder how he had 30 points.

In the finals, his scoring efficiency was superb and his timing was impeccable. Great traits.

But best in the game? Hardly.

No one was more dominant than the King in that series. As infuriating as he can be, and was during that series, with wasting so much damn time at crucial, late-game junctures trying to involve his teammates, he did take over – because he had to.

There were moments, comical moments, where he had to bull his way to the basket and awkwardly force up shots … because there was no time to mess around, to win style points. Buckets had to be made, and he went about making them in sure-fire fashion: physical domination of an opponent.

That is not something you will see in KD’s repertoire. Heck, if we're talking take-over guys, even LeBron's sidekick, Kyrie Irving, fits that bill better than Durant.

No knock against the latter there. Almost leaves his game more pure. More fine. More appealing to watch.

Funny thing is, to me he always looks goofy and gangly. His all-timer of a nickname, “Slim Reaper,” is a perfect testament to his appearance, but also his lethal impact on games.

He is graceful and smooth. He has a beautiful shooting stroke, and his shot, especially in those five games against Cleveland, deadly. He even has a nice handle, can distribute the ball pretty nifty, block a few shots and pull down his share of rebounds.

But, please, no more Paul Pierce-type insanity out there. He ain’t anywhere near LeBron. Not only does he not possess the take-over skills required to draw that comparison, he’s never had to display them.

FYI: LeBron not only averaged a triple-double in the finals, he also shot better from the floor overall than KD did, .564 to .556. Take away Game 1, when the Cavaliers inexplicably decided to leave Durant all alone the entire night, James probably ends up being the series high scorer, too – as well as being its top rebounder and assists guy.

Oh, and knock it off with the 7-footer crap with Durant. He’s 6-9. Always has been. This silly Charles Barkley reversal crap needs to stop. With the 76ers, Philly media was so desperate to hype up the guy and make his accomplishments that much more impressive, so it “shrunk” him from his college height of 6-7 to 6-3 – wow, and all those rebounds. Just amazing.

Durant? Hey, look at his ball-handling skills and that shooting. Unreal for a 7-footer, right?

Yeah, especially when the dude is 6-9.

Yo, just enjoy the guy for what he is, a great player. Not the best. He’s never going to be. But a great player. Who had a great series. Who proved to be the ultimate X factor in that series.

Nothing more. Nothing less.



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