Will We Ever Escape The Sixers’ Groundhog Day?

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Coggin Toboggan - September 22, 2017

January 2017: Joel Embiid “feels great” after injury to knee, will only miss a few games.

Then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…

February 2017: Joel Embiid has a torn meniscus, but he won’t need surgery.

Then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…

March 24, 2017: Embiid’s meniscus repair surgery went just fine.

Then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…

Sept. 20, 2017: Embiid is progressing, but he’s not ready for 5-on-5

Then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…

Sept. 21, 2017: Jahlil Okafor will have every chance to play while being shopped by the 76ers.

Where have we heard this before? Embiid is hurt and the Sixers don’t know when, or if, he’ll be a full-go. Okafor is in the best shape of his life and he’ll have every opportunity to play so he can be dealt to the highest bidder.

Didn’t this all happen last year? And the year before? And the year before that? Did Embiid hurt his knee bowling in the offseason, or was that someone else? When does it end? Will it ever end? Will we all be living the same tortured season year in and year out for the rest of our lives? It’s possible we will.

God that is depressing.

I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last the rest of your life.

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The Sixers and Opposite Ends of the Spectrum, Part 1: A Realistic Worst-Case Scenario

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Kevin Love - September 21, 2017

Photo Credit - John Geliebter, USA TODAY Sports

The Sixers over/under win total for the 2017-2018 season currently sits at 40.5.

That’s an extreme jump from the 27.5 over/under win total heading into last season.

It’s an impressive number, considering that the 13-game year-to-year difference (plus or minus) is second only to the Houston Rockets’ 15-game difference (41.5 to 56.5). There’s obvious reason for the expected win increase, but I won’t exhaust you with that.

The tricky thing about using that 40.5 number to project the Sixers’ performance this season, for fans and degenerates alike, is that the team leaves the door open for a wide range of variance. Joel Embiid playing 40 games versus Joel Embiid playing 62 games could be a difference of seven, eight, nine, or more wins. Lineup experimentation could force the Sixers to play two or three months of basketball before they finally “figure it out.” Ben Simmons could light the league on fire right out of the gate, or he could struggle mightily with turnovers and become exposed as a poor shooter.

With so many factors surrounding this team’s potential, let’s focus on an extreme, while being realistic.

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OK I’m Beginning To Think There’s Something To This Whole “Joel Embiid isn’t cleared to play” Thing

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Kyle Scott - September 20, 2017

Brett Brown, Bryan Colangelo and his thick, deep collars met with some assembled media today at what appears to be the set where they take product shots for food delivery services and explained to the gathered mass that, fuck no, Joel Embiid isn’t cleared to play 5 -on-5:

#Sixers Brett Brown says Joel Embiid has 'yet to play 5-on-5' and doesn't know when that will happen. pic.twitter.com/cpgPjBTTy4

— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) September 20, 2017

“We just left the gym with him running around and getting shots. To be able to tell you specifically what I’m expecting to be able to get out of him next week, I’m not able to do that now.”

Shat.

Me, watching that video:

Colangelo added that it is too early to tell when Embiid will scrimmage, but that he has not suffered a setback following his knee surgery this spring and that the team is just being overly cautious. It sounds like Embiid will meet with doctors next week.

Still, this feels odd. Why even the hesitation? The meniscus thing is a simple procedure and there’s no reason the Sixers shouldn’t know, for sure, that Embiid is good to go. Again, they’re likely being overly cautious, but this isn’t a group that deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to injuries. Anything short of yep, he dunked on Vegan Jah so hard yesterday in a scrimmage that we thought a sewage pipe burst because so many people were screaming “oh shit!” is concerning. Until that happens, I will remain inside my own clothing*, sobbing like a big baby.

More positive outlook: The Sixers are in contract talks with Embiid and are shooting to get something done soon. It is quite possible that Embiid, or his people, don’t want to risk further injury before the pen hits the paper.

*It would be so much easier if I had Bryan Colangelo’s collars.

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Space Jam: The NBA’s Gravity Era Welcomes the 2017-18 Sixers

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Jim McCormick - September 20, 2017

Photo credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The Monstars were well ahead of the analytics curve in that they made all nine of their three-point attempts against Michael Jordan’s Tune Squad back in 1996. Even though they lost, the Monstars merit some credit for the modernity of their approach to the game. (Yes, someone from Harvard charted the game from Space Jam.)

Gravity – in basketball terms – wasn’t really a factor in Space Jam, as Jordan’s team didn’t attempt a single shot beyond the arc and still somehow beat a gang of efficient aliens with a crew of cartoons. The Monstars also jumped like 40 feet in the air, so even the Isaac Newton version of gravity wasn’t a factor in the premise. Continue Reading

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The Sixers Unveiled Their New “Spirit of 76” Campaign

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Kyle Scott - September 20, 2017

Sixers press release:

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today details for its “Spirit of 76” campaign, highlighted by seven tribute nights recognizing the rich history of the city of Philadelphia and 76ers basketball. At each “Spirit of 76” game, the 76ers will wear the much anticipated City Edition uniforms — to be unveiled at a later date — on a new tribute court, featuring a custom-designed center-court logo. The season-long celebration builds off of last year’s “Spirit of the Champion” campaign, which celebrated the 1967 NBA Championship team.

“Spirit of 76,” introduces a new “bell” logo, inspired by imagery from Philadelphia’s 1976 bicentennial celebration, a special center-court logo signed by 76ers full season ticket members, collectible tickets and membership boxes for season ticket members.

Here’s the original bicentennial logo, seen here on a button:

My guess is the Sixers couldn’t use the identical version for legal reasons, so they combined it with their vintage logo. But the combination of the two is so seamless that it just looks right… and, oh yes, feels right.

Season ticket holders will also be given commemorative tickets and their signatures will be featured on the court logo. And the Sixers will unveil three new sculptures at their practice facility which fans won’t see.

Spirit of 76 nights will be as follows:

Thursday, Dec. 21 vs. Toronto Raptors
Friday, Jan. 5 vs. Detroit Pistons
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Miami Heat
Friday, Feb. 9 vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Friday, March 2 vs. Charlotte Hornets
Friday, March 16 vs. Brooklyn Nets
Friday, April 6 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Sixers also unveiled their promotional schedule, which details the games they’ll wear their red uniforms. That schedule, and what the new court will look like, is after the jump. Continue Reading

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This Sixers’ New Court Is Flames

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Kyle Scott - September 18, 2017

🏀🏀🏀
🏀
🏀🏀🏀 🏀🏀🏀 🏀🏀🏀 🏀🏀🏀
🏀 🏀 🏀 🏀 🏀 🏀 🏀
🏀🏀🏀 🏀🏀🏀 🏀🏀🏀 🏀 🏀 pic.twitter.com/728aciPD8W

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) September 18, 2017

THAT COURT IS ON FIRE!!!!!!!!

Side note: It looks like Toyota won out where it was supposed to say Sixers.com. 💰

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The Sixers Hired a VP of Joel Embiid’s Knees

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Kyle Scott - September 15, 2017

The Sixers hired a new doctor. He used to be the team doctor for Barcelona, arguably the most famous sports team in the world with, arguably, the most famous athlete in the world, Lionel Messi.

Dr. Medina will replace the Sixers’ former head of medicine, Swedish Chef:

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Reviewing The Sixers’ Excellent New Red Uniforms

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Dan Fuller - September 14, 2017

They’ve done it again. The Sixers have taken a design, which maybe wasn’t perfect but didn’t need any tweaking, and have made it better. Truly, addition by addition. Simply re-rendering the 2017 updated uniforms on a red base would have been the easy thing to do. Rather, the Sixers utilized the successful 7+6 star design and added a new, tasteful script version of the “Sixers” wordmark. It is similar to the (never worn) Sixers Christmas jersey of 2016, but that was a league-wide design template, and the 2017 typeface is unique to this application.

The subtle blue drop-shadow gives just enough pop to make the design stand-out. Prior to the 2017 drop-shadows, the numbers and text on the recent uniforms had contributed to the general “retro=dull… but they’re still nice!” feel of the jerseys. This little addition gives the entire set released so far just enough more visual impact to not look like a copy of an “old school” design, but something actually inspired by those designs. Simply executing the 2017 version of the white and blue uniforms in red would have still resulted in a “nice” uniform (maybe not the “fire in the desert” Kyle mentioned, but still a noticeable upgrade from the pre-2017 set). The Sixers, however, took a calculated risk, and it paid off. Continue Reading

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