WIP ran this poll Tuesday. Anybody who voted yes is a dweeb:

The poll results should be 0% for yes and 100% for no. Why? Because if you’re scared of anybody or anything, you’re a pussy.

Furthermore, the Sixers are on an eight-game winning streak. Joel Embiid is back. Tyrese Maxey is healthy. They have home court against a Miami team that split the season series and finished 46-36 on the year. Jimmy only played once against the Sixers this season, going 7 for 17 from the floor and scoring 20 points in a 109-105 home loss. In the final five minutes of that game, he was blocked, turned the ball over, and missed a three-pointer. Zero points during that stretch.

That’s not to diminish what Jimmy has accomplished in his career, nor is anybody being naive or underestimating him, but at this point he’s 34 years old and a 20 PPG guy. He’s scored 30+ only seven times this season and hasn’t done it since March 2nd, at home against the Jazz, so it’s unlikely that the Sixers get run off the floor by the Heat because Jimmy goes on a heater. It’s more likely that Erik Spoelstra coaches his ass off, as usual, throws that annoying zone at the Sixers, and Miami’s seemingly endless crop of two-way grinders have a good night. That’s what “Heat culture” really is, isn’t it? It’s getting the non-stars to both score and defend and play hard and play as a team. They’re gonna be up for it, they’re gonna be conditioned, organized, and well-coached.

My take is that Sixers fans put this added value on Jimmy because they feel like the team let him get away after the 2019 playoff exit. They see him as a closer and legit ball-handling stud, which is something the Sixers just didn’t have in 2020 and 2021. There’s a portion of fans who think the team would have made it to the conference finals or NBA finals if Jimmy stayed, and maybe that’s true, maybe not. We’ll never know. But, in my mind, they slightly overvalue Jimmy because of that, hence people inexplicably voting “yes” in a poll asking if they’re scared of the guy.

If you’re scared, get a dog.

Btw I’ve mentioned the Sixers-themed roulette and blackjack games at PA online casino, but I’d be remiss if I failed to mention New Jersey online casino as well. We will not discriminate against our Garden state brothers and sisters.