I didn’t even ask Jim to write this because he’s still trying to un-stick his keyboard, which may have been forever ruined sometime around when Big Jah hit double-digits last night.

Okafor didn’t disappoint, putting up 26 and 7 (and 8 eight turnovers). But, let’s just pump the brakes, a bit, because getting out ahead of ourselves like this is why we don’t have nice things:

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Marcus Hayes:

About 65 million years ago in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists say, an asteroid crashed into earth, caused mass extinctions, ended the Cretaceous Period and began the current Cenozoic Era.

Wednesday night at the TD Garden, the Okafor Era began, though with considerably less combustion; but, for the Sixers, a giant seismic impact.

It is impossible to overstate the significance of Jahlil Okafor . . . though the Philadelphia region seemed mystifyingly indifferent. Think about it: The Sixers finally added a complete player.

This is Eric Lindros, Jim Thome, Donovan McNabb and Allen Iverson.

With apologies to Sir Charles, Okafor is the best real big man to hit town since Moses, rest his soul, except Moses wasn’t a savior.

Easy, fella. Easy.

I’m thrilled that Okafor had a huge debut, and everything Hayes wrote might, just might, be accurate and prescient (a first!). But this cover and column make me sad a little, too. Our victories are so small right now. There’s virtually nothing to be excited about in the short-term. Maybe the Flyers and Eagles can make the playoffs, but neither is a legit contender. The Phils are years away. So are the Sixers. And though Okafor genuinely looks like the real deal, this is how players and teams get set up to fail. If Okafor isn’t the second coming, Hayes will be the first to declare him a dud (or rip his bosses, Brett Brown and Sam Hinkie, because that’s more Hayes’ style). There’s a reason why only one media outlet sent extra reporters to Boston last night (something Marcus lamented in his piece): because no one cares. Because the cost of a plane ticket and hotel room, even for one night, would in no way be offset by additional readership (not to mention that there’s little benefit in being there in the first place). And I feel like other cities – New York, Boston, Chicago, to name a few – are laughing at us for stuff like this. Oh, cute, look, Philly is throwing a parade for an NBA rookie after one game. Could we have, or pretend to have, just a little more self respect? Is that too much to ask?


RIP, Jim’s keyboard.