OK… the long hot summer is here and with it comes the end of the NBA offseason. Summer League is over and done. Free Agency has closed. The Draft is in the books with each team supremely confident that the player they got was the one they couldn’t believe was available to them in their draft slot.
Magoon has provided the roadmap in a post prior to this one. Let’s have a look at each team in a little more detail and how they matchup to the current NBA champions.
First up, The Hinkies.
The Hinkies are different team than last year and we will see once the season begins if they are different AND better or just different. Continuity is something that’s generally regarded as a good thing but isn’t paid much attention to. The Hinkies return 3 of their starting 5 and 5 of the 10 likely to see floor time on a regular basis. Integrating 5 new guys will take some time.
The Bigs: Embiid + Horford + Mike Scott + Kyle O’Quinn vs Serge+ Marc+ Pascal + Boucher/RHJ.
The Wings: Harris +Richardson + Two Rooks in Smith and Thybulle vs OG+Johnson + Norm + McCaw
Ballhandlers: Simmons and someone named Shake vs Lowry + Freddy.
The strength of the Hinkies is in the front court. Al Horford is a huge upgrade over last year when the Hinkies had no playable centres when Embidd subbed out. O’Quinn will give them situation minutes when Horford shifts to PF and Mike Scott makes his fair share of 3s as the stretch 4. What will make or break the Hinkies front court this year is what kind of shape Joel Embiid shows up in. In his 6th year now Embiid has sat out 2 ½ seasons and missed chunks of others. When he plays its in shorter bursts as his cardio is abysmal. If he doesn’t show up in shape then Marc Gasol will be able to limit him offensively. If he finally does show up in shape then the league should be worried. Serge will have to step up to take on Al Horford which he has shown he can do. Al is the better rebounder. It’s a bit of a draw on offense. Pascal should be able to keep Scott in check while taking advantage of him on the offensive end. O’Quinn brings sandpaper and rebounding and is a quality situational big.
So have to give the edge to Philly but not by that big a margin. If Embiid is in good shape Al and he get the easy nod over Marc and Serge and Embiid will make life tough for Siakam inside. However if Joel is still drinking Shirley Temples and eating cheeseburgers the edge diminishes substantially.
On the wing the Sixers sport Harris and Josh Richardson and a bunch of guys named Moe. The Hinks are top heavy at the position. The guys named Moe have to play bigger minutes and they are 1st and 2nd year guys. With no Leonard the big edge the Raps enjoyed is now reduced from a big nod to neutral or less. OG is going to have to stay with Harris and on the surface of it that’s going to be hard to do. Norm should be able to stay with Josh Richardson and that’s a saw off. The Raps get an edge on the rotation players as Stanley Johnson and Patrick McCaw will be better than the two rookies. Technically Zharie Smith isn’t a rook but he redshirted last year. Thybulle is a 20th pick overall. Who knows what this guy has. The scary part for Philly is every first they make seems to miss the entire first year. So can the Raps make up for lost netted points with the starters with the bench.
The Ballhandlers for Philly are Ben “No Jimmy†Simmons and some guy named Shake. The Raps counter with Kyle and Freddy. Freddy had his struggles with the big lineup the Sixers put on the floor in the playoffs but that was before his defining run against the Bucks and Warriors. Have to like Freddys chances to not only hold his own against Shake but maybe really take advantage of him. Without Leonard Kyle will not be able to switch off Simmons as much as the Raps might like but Kyle has proved that posting him up isn’t as easy as it might seem. Couple that with no jump shot from Ben and Kyle can hold his own on the arc against Simmons. As tough a defender in the post as he is Kyle will still need a help defender when Simmons makes his drive to the basket if he is one on one with Lowry. Lowry will get his points against Simmons off screens that Ben doesn’t particularly like to work through. All in all the nod here goes to the Raps.
Fully expect the season series to be a split.But in a 7 game series the Hinkies will be favoured. Can the Raps take them in a first to four ? Yes..but between now and the playoffs the Raps are going to have to find more more juice on the wing than they have now. OG has to have a Siakam type year.
Next Up. The Alphabet led Bucks.
Magoon has provided the roadmap in a post prior to this one. Let’s have a look at each team in a little more detail and how they matchup to the current NBA champions.
First up, The Hinkies.
The Hinkies are different team than last year and we will see once the season begins if they are different AND better or just different. Continuity is something that’s generally regarded as a good thing but isn’t paid much attention to. The Hinkies return 3 of their starting 5 and 5 of the 10 likely to see floor time on a regular basis. Integrating 5 new guys will take some time.
The Bigs: Embiid + Horford + Mike Scott + Kyle O’Quinn vs Serge+ Marc+ Pascal + Boucher/RHJ.
The Wings: Harris +Richardson + Two Rooks in Smith and Thybulle vs OG+Johnson + Norm + McCaw
Ballhandlers: Simmons and someone named Shake vs Lowry + Freddy.
The strength of the Hinkies is in the front court. Al Horford is a huge upgrade over last year when the Hinkies had no playable centres when Embidd subbed out. O’Quinn will give them situation minutes when Horford shifts to PF and Mike Scott makes his fair share of 3s as the stretch 4. What will make or break the Hinkies front court this year is what kind of shape Joel Embiid shows up in. In his 6th year now Embiid has sat out 2 ½ seasons and missed chunks of others. When he plays its in shorter bursts as his cardio is abysmal. If he doesn’t show up in shape then Marc Gasol will be able to limit him offensively. If he finally does show up in shape then the league should be worried. Serge will have to step up to take on Al Horford which he has shown he can do. Al is the better rebounder. It’s a bit of a draw on offense. Pascal should be able to keep Scott in check while taking advantage of him on the offensive end. O’Quinn brings sandpaper and rebounding and is a quality situational big.
So have to give the edge to Philly but not by that big a margin. If Embiid is in good shape Al and he get the easy nod over Marc and Serge and Embiid will make life tough for Siakam inside. However if Joel is still drinking Shirley Temples and eating cheeseburgers the edge diminishes substantially.
On the wing the Sixers sport Harris and Josh Richardson and a bunch of guys named Moe. The Hinks are top heavy at the position. The guys named Moe have to play bigger minutes and they are 1st and 2nd year guys. With no Leonard the big edge the Raps enjoyed is now reduced from a big nod to neutral or less. OG is going to have to stay with Harris and on the surface of it that’s going to be hard to do. Norm should be able to stay with Josh Richardson and that’s a saw off. The Raps get an edge on the rotation players as Stanley Johnson and Patrick McCaw will be better than the two rookies. Technically Zharie Smith isn’t a rook but he redshirted last year. Thybulle is a 20th pick overall. Who knows what this guy has. The scary part for Philly is every first they make seems to miss the entire first year. So can the Raps make up for lost netted points with the starters with the bench.
The Ballhandlers for Philly are Ben “No Jimmy†Simmons and some guy named Shake. The Raps counter with Kyle and Freddy. Freddy had his struggles with the big lineup the Sixers put on the floor in the playoffs but that was before his defining run against the Bucks and Warriors. Have to like Freddys chances to not only hold his own against Shake but maybe really take advantage of him. Without Leonard Kyle will not be able to switch off Simmons as much as the Raps might like but Kyle has proved that posting him up isn’t as easy as it might seem. Couple that with no jump shot from Ben and Kyle can hold his own on the arc against Simmons. As tough a defender in the post as he is Kyle will still need a help defender when Simmons makes his drive to the basket if he is one on one with Lowry. Lowry will get his points against Simmons off screens that Ben doesn’t particularly like to work through. All in all the nod here goes to the Raps.
Fully expect the season series to be a split.But in a 7 game series the Hinkies will be favoured. Can the Raps take them in a first to four ? Yes..but between now and the playoffs the Raps are going to have to find more more juice on the wing than they have now. OG has to have a Siakam type year.
Next Up. The Alphabet led Bucks.
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