Joel Embiid And The Sixers Lift Our Spirits When We Needed It Most
Philly Sports fans have not been having a great time recently. We just had to witness the Eagles utter collapse, with losses in 6 of their last 7 games. That came off the back of the Phillies collapse in the NLCS. The mood around town is at an All-Time low. There have been periods where our teams were worse. But being fooled into thinking they were good, just to have the rug pulled out from under us, makes it so much worse. But at least for one night, Joel Embiid and the Sixers lifted our spirits.
If you did not watch last night’s Sixers vs Nuggets game, you missed quite the show. 41 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists from the Big Man. All on the way to a 126-121 Sixers win. But it wasn’t just Embiid, because Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, Nicolas Batum, and Pat Beverley all had big games too. Maxey finished with 25 points, 9 assists, and went 4 for 9 from deep. Harris had 24 points, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Batum had only 8 points but made his presence felt on defense, as did Patrick Beverley.
Embiid euro steps his way for two 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/eXOd5rY7Nf
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 17, 2024
Will this Sixers team be the one who gets the city over that Second Round hump? We don’t know yet. Beating the Bucks or the Celtics will certainly be a tall task. But they are the most fun Sixers team we have watched in this era. Between the great team defense, the ball movement, and Embiid playing out of his mind, they are a must-watch every night.
They are currently 3rd in the East, 1.5 games behind the Bucks, and 4.5 behind the Celtics. But they are 3rd overall in the NBA in terms of point differential. Some people put them down for playing a “weak schedule.” But they just beat the reigning champs, and also have wins over the Thunder, Timberwolves, and Celtics, who are all top 5 in the overall standings. Nuggets are 6th, and the Sixers are 4th.
The second round cloud still hangs over them. And until they break that curse, there will be fans who refuse to get on board. But you are missing out if that is how you feel. This team is a blast to watch. Joel Embiid is playing the best basketball of his career. Tyrese Maxey is blossoming into a star. For the first time in forever, they have guys off the bench who can impact the game. And even Tobias Harris is playing at a high level. We await whatever move Daryl Morey is going to make before the deadline. But even without a move, this has the feel of one of the best Sixers teams we have seen in the Embiid era.
Watch Andrew Salciunas live on the 97.5 The Fanatic YouTube page on Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The All-Time Roster Of NBA Players From Philadelphia
PG- Earl Monroe- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe has quite the NBA resume. Hall of Famer, 4-time All-Star, NBA Champion, a member of the 75th Anniversary Team, and Rookie of the Year, just to name a few of his accolades. He was more of a shooting guard, but you are not going to supplant the next guy as the team’s shooting guard. Instead, he moves over to Point Guard. Is he the ideal facilitator? No. But this team won’t exactly need that with the players they have. So instead you just get another elite scorer onto the court
SG- Kobe Bryant- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
When you think of Basketball players from Philly, you think of Kobe. He is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, and led his team to 5 NBA Finals wins. From coming up playing at Lower Merion, to dominating an entire era of the NBA, Kobe is a legend. He may have played his pro basketball in LA, but he will always be part of Philly too. As evident by how he celebrated the Eagles’ first Super Bowl.
PF- Rasheed Wallace- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
We have lots of scoring on this team, so it’s time to also add some great defensive players. Wallace had a Defensive Rating of just over 100 in his career. Rudy Gobert had the lowest Defensive rating in the NBA last year at 103. It’s a different era with more scoring, but it goes to show the caliber of defense Wallace brought to the table. He was no slouch on offense either. He is the only player on this starting 5 that is not yet in the Hall of Fame. But he does have a decent case. And even if he never does make it, he is still a fantastic player and among the best Power Forwards of his era.
Bench- Richard “Rip” Hamilton- Coatsville, Pa
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Rasheed was not the only Philly representation on the Pistons team that won it all in 2004. Because Coatsville native Rip Hamilton was there too. For this team, he would bring scoring and shooting off the bench. Rip led all scorers for that Pistons team in the playoffs in 2004.
Bench- Kyle Lowry- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
We already talked about Kyle Lowry when we did the All-Time roster for active guys from the area. The difference is in this case you get Lowry in his prime. Lowry has made 6 All-Star teams, 1 All-NBA team, and won it all with the Raptors in 2019. Not a bad guy to have coming off of your bench.
Bench- Mikal Bridges- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Like with Lowry, we already talked about Bridges when we made the active team of guys from the area. He would bring All-NBA Caliber defense, and some scoring, off the bench. He was the star for the active team, but on a team of Hall of Famers here, he would be one hell of a role player.
Bench- Jameer Nelson- Chester, Pa
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
We can’t talk Philly basketball and leave out St. Joe’s Jameer Nelson. In 2004 Nelson helped lead St Joes to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1981. He has a very strong case for being the best player in the school’s history. He went on to have a solid NBA career too, mostly playing with the Magic. He is not a Super Star or Hall of Famer like other guys on this list. But he is more than deserving of a place on the All-Time Philly team.
Bench- Aaron Mckie- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)
You can’t make one of these lists and leave McKie off. Mckie may not have had as prolific of an NBA career as the rest of this team. But he was a solid player and won 6th Man of the Year. He was also a star while at Temple alongside Eddie Jones. And he has been around Philadelphia basketball longer than anyone else here. He played in College here, coached in College here, played in the pros, and coached in the pros here. How many other guys can say they did that in any Basketball city? That is deserving of the 11th roster spot.
