EMB Blog: 2021 Offseason

[Guest justrelax]

6 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

My typing skills suck, I confess.

[Guest justrelax]

2 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

I saw a guy who would get the ball into the paint and then get rid of it like it was hot potato and then disappear in the half court set.  What the league calls an assist now, was not an assist back in the day.  Getting the ball to Harris because you’re to afraid to shoot and watch Harris drive the lane like a man, should not be an assist.  Nothing I have seen him shows me that he’s evolved.  It’s going to cost them. It’s not being negative. It’s being realistic.  

Somehow getting rid of the ball like a hot potato led to 15 assists. Harris gets his points mostly in isolation and off his dribble, not off Simmons' assists. And most of the big assist numbers are from "back in the day." Stockton, Kidd, Nash, etc. none of whom could touch Simmons' game. 

Of course I'd like to see him make more free throws but at the same time I repeat what has almost become my mantra: appreciate what a player can do rather than harp constantly on what he can't. That assist to George Hill was a pass maybe only Magic could have made.

[Original Sin]

7 hours ago, Utebird said:

Yup I've heard the spurs small market comparison and in my opinion there's one glaring difference, the spurs don't have a difficult time marketing to minority populations,SLC is one of the whitest cities in the NBA and they have zero street cred with NBA fan base.

When LeBron joked that when playing NBA jam no one picked the jazz he wasn't just being funny he made a true observation. Nobody other than jazz fans pick the jazz or buy jazz merch, heck half the kids in my school growing up wouldn't be caught dead  wearing jazz gear especially while playing basketball and this was at a time when the jazz had been to 20 straight playoffs and two championships and still no one other than grannies and 40 year old men wearing new balance and pocket protectors were wearing jazz gear. They're just not marketable to the majority of the NBA fan base whether one is black  white latiino or any other race noner think the jazz are cool no matter how much they win.

Won’t happen , especially with new owner being a local guy , but I think the Jazz would have been better off moving to Seattle .

[ToastJenkins]

1 hour ago, justrelax said:

Somehow getting rid of the ball like a hot potato led to 15 assists. Harris gets his points mostly in isolation and off his dribble, not off Simmons' assists. And most of the big assist numbers are from "back in the day." Stockton, Kidd, Nash, etc. none of whom could touch Simmons' game. 

Of course I'd like to see him make more free throws but at the same time I repeat what has almost become my mantra: appreciate what a player can do rather than harp constantly on what he can't. That assist to George Hill was a pass maybe only Magic could have made.

think about it like its the O-Line. its not about your best guy, its about your worst guy - because that's who the D is going to attack.

Simmons' liabilities are obvious and other teams can exploit them. its holds the team back too often and will likely hinder them from winning a title b/c he is a max contract. Additionally, it's the utter lack of improvement over several years now that feeds peoples' frustration with him. has his ceiling ever really moved? would be hard to argue that. 

people harp on it b/c after years of work he should be alot better than he is. time has fed frustration.

and if we're thinking of the same pass to Hill it was a simple backdoor cut. you and I can make that pass.

 

[Freshmilk]

24 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

This is some topics I can get down on. 

Bourbon Glaze marinade I made for her, nice thick strip for me. 

Forgot to take after pitchers. 

 

 

I drink my after pitchers.

[Guest justrelax]

13 hours ago, Vortex said:

Venison skewers with early asparagus from the garden. Marinaded in a scallion, garlic, EVO and balsamic purée which was reduced into a sauce at the end. 

I generally don't care for venison because it is so lean but I drooled all over these pictures.

[Guest justrelax]

7 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

think about it like its the O-Line. its not about your best guy, its about your worst guy - because that's who the D is going to attack.

Simmons' liabilities are obvious and other teams can exploit them. its holds the team back too often and will likely hinder them from winning a title b/c he is a max contract. Additionally, it's the utter lack of improvement over several years now that feeds peoples' frustration with him. has his ceiling ever really moved? would be hard to argue that. 

people harp on it b/c after years of work he should be alot better than he is. time has fed frustration.

and if we're thinking of the same pass to Hill it was a simple backdoor cut. you and I can make that pass.

 

Simmons ceiling is very high, even with bricking free throws. He's one of the two or three best defenders in the league, he's the best in the league in transition both offensively and defensively. What am I missing? Oh yes, those 15 rebounds.

The pass to Hill was from his side of midcourt. Different play.

[ToastJenkins]

3 minutes ago, justrelax said:

Simmons ceiling is very high, even with bricking free throws. He's one of the two or three best defenders in the league, he's the best in the league in transition both offensively and defensively. What am I missing? Oh yes, those 15 rebounds.

The pass to Hill was from his side of midcourt. Different play.

what you describe isnt a PG, though. you say it yourself - transition. no one denies he is good at that, other than his bonehead turnovers, lets not forget those. he plays D and I appreciate that, but padding stats to hide that he couldnt score seems evident.

but when the game inevitably goes into half-court sets in the playoffs and late in games, where is Ben?  even He seems to grasp he is a liability b/c he doesn't want the ball in the clutch.

[austinfan]

I think the problem with Simmonds is the expectations were King James and the Greek Freak.

Instead, he's a supersized version of Rondo.

Rondo played 918 games, 4 All star berths, his teams were 72-49 in the playoffs.

A superior version with the unique ability to play all five positions is nothing to sneeze out.

Yes, Simmonds needs to improve his FT shooting, given his style, it's far more important than his 3 point shot.

But he's still one of the top 20 players in the league, like in most sports, defense is undervalued by fans.

[Alphagrand]

Sixers have always been too soft; if they hadn't taken nights off against the Raptors they'd have won that series easily.  Fix that problem, then they have a chance.

[Iggles_Phan]

7 minutes ago, austinfan said:

I think the problem with Simmonds is the expectations were King James and the Greek Freak.

Instead, he's a supersized version of Rondo.

Rondo played 918 games, 4 All star berths, his teams were 72-49 in the playoffs.

A superior version with the unique ability to play all five positions is nothing to sneeze out.

Yes, Simmonds needs to improve his FT shooting, given his style, it's far more important than his 3 point shot.

But he's still one of the top 20 players in the league, like in most sports, defense is undervalued by fans.

I, for one, don't undervalue his defense.  I mentioned his liability down the stretch of games, given his inability to hit foul shots.  It is specifically because of his rebounding, defense, and transition, that I proposed that he be a part of an offense/defense platoon down the stretch in the case of leading a game by a slim margin late.  But, playing 4 on 5 when you need to maintain a lead, eat some clock and hit the inevitable foul shots is a recipe for disaster in the playoffs.  

 

[greend]

11 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

Sixers have always been too soft; if they hadn't taken nights off against the Raptors they'd have won that series easily.  Fix that problem, then they have a chance.

 

[Desertbirds]

NBA?

Can't we get back to religion and politics?

[Utebird]

1 hour ago, Original Sin said:

Won’t happen , especially with new owner being a local guy , but I think the Jazz would have been better off moving to Seattle .

Wouldn't have been better for Utah jazz fans😉

[ToastJenkins]

6 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

You want an NBA team to go to a city that it already failed in?

bold strategy cotton 

like football in LA?

[Iggles_Phan]

8 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

like football in LA?

That only failed because there were 2 teams in LA, they wouldn't be foolish enough to put two teams back in there...

 

 

 

oh... nvm.

[Guest justrelax]

24 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Simmons game?  Listen, as H.E. and others can attest.  I have defended that guy more than anyone in here.  But that was 3 years ago!  And now here we are.  He's the same player.  Nothing has changed.  He enters the zone and gets rid of the ball.  When they are not a  fluid half court team it's because of him.  He is Mattise Thybulle on offense in the half court.  Just taller.  He is a waste of space.  And even when he can drive the lane, he gets rid of the ball.  He's scared to go the basket.  How is that aggressive.  He passes so much, of course he's going to rack up assists.  You know why????!!!!!  Because he's afraid to shoot!  You know why certain players rack up a ton of baskets?  Because they shoot so much.  That doesn't make it right.  He's the complete opposite.   And then we got Doc Rivers codling him to the media again!  I'm not harping on what he CAN'T do.  I am harping on what he WON'T do.  What's the use of having him at PG if he is going to turn the half court set over to Harris so he can go hide?  He is not a winner or leader.  He's an athletic participant.  You think this is going to get fixed before the next few rounds?  

I sense your displeasure.

I thought he played a great game; you do not. I understand.

[Original Sin]

52 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

LA didnt want to build a stadium(let alone two) and were extremely strict on the owners

Seattle lost a franchise(like Atlanta) because no one cares. 

 

They lost the team to Oklahoma City, because they wanted half a billion in funding for new stadium , didn’t happen so team was sold and moved , they were there for 40 years , Seattle would love to have a team again  

[Guest]

Got Moderna #2 Saturday.  Fine all day, arm started hurting a little about 4 am Sunday morning, not as bad as a tetanus shot, but definitely noticeable.  Took a couple naps yesterday, other than that, no symptoms.

[Swoop]

Not a Sixers fan...Ben Simmons is an okay player. Nothing special. Came into the league and looked like he was going to be a star and has declined in some aspects and failed to make any real improvement.

Flame away.

[ManuManu]

 

[RLC]

7 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

Given our Miami pick, I'm strongly rooting for him to go to the Patriots.

[LeanMeanGM]

7 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

[Swoop]

13 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

I'd be all for having him in Philly....for free.

[Captain F]