The Game 1 Debacle Was Not Ideal for the Sixer Fan Brand

If you are a die hard member of the Process cult, know all the Sixers twitter inside jokes and consider the Lottery Party a holiday, Game 1 was the absolute WORST. Not only did we lose, we got smoked by the team we’ve been saying we constantly say we have  a better future than. As far as the Sixers brand, our morale took one hell of a blow Monday night. Here’s why:




Al Horford, the man at the butt of many of our jokes since he stole an All-Star spot from Embiid, played completely  out of his mind. In a game full of mismatches, Horford was not one of them and he still poured in 26 on 10-12 (!!!) shooting. As much as we make fun of Horford, he is a solid veteran.  But for God sake’s, no one should be shooting 83% from the field.

Despite Horford’s ridiculous stat line, it wasn’t even the worst slap in the face of the night. Jayson Tatum. Third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Jayson Tatum. You know why his 28 points are bothersome. As the TNT broadcast panned to an expressionless Markelle Fultz on the sideline, the trade storylines were swirling out of control. As we wait two days for Game 2, one of the main talking points regarding the series was “did the Celtics fleece the Sixers on draft night?”. After months of saying Bryan Colangelo made the right move, even during Fultz’ shoulder uncertainty, Tatum soared on the big stage, making our take on the trade look incredibly foolish. Look, as a 6 foot white guy myself, I know a little something about being a defensive liability and JJ Redick on Jayson Tatum will just flat out not work. Tatum is very good at using his length to create shots for himself and he’s being guarded by a guy who looks like he writes articles for BuzzFeed. Of all the changes I want to see in Game 2, Simmons on Tatum tops the list by a mile.




https://twitter.com/mynbaupdate/status/991122896880726016

The Boston crowd sure helped to fuel the production too. I’ve never been as anti-Boston as most Philly fans are. I’ve always felt the New England passion underneath their racism and entitlement. They are good fans, they delivered in Game 1. The “not a rookie chant”, as dumb as it was, went viral and ask Kanye how it goes once something does that. We got embarrassed on the court, and online, which these days who knows what is worse.




So, Game 1 went as bad as it possibly fucking could. Yet, as poorly as it went, we regroup for Game 2 and could come back to Philly on Saturday with a confidence boosting split. Monday night was Game 88 of the year. Chances are in 88 games, a night won’t go your way. Monday was that night for damn sure.