The Philadelphia 76ers Deserve More Respect

Despite Doc Rivers best efforts to blow leads and force Furkan Korkmaz down our throats, the Philadelphia 76ers are a half game out of first place in the Eastern Conference. Yet, if you reside anywhere outside of the Delaware Valley, you likely didn’t know that.

 

 

All year long, the Sixers have been written off by the national media. While Disney is busy gushing over Giannis, trying to give the Lakers ideas on how to fix their roster for their precious king, and waiting for Kevin Durant to come back, the 76ers have a better record than all three of them.

 

So why, you wonder, are the Sixers not being talked about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Whenever the Sixers are brought up, the conversation always goes back to an Australian point guard that’s employed by the team but doesn’t want to work for them. We know who that is.

 

 

Yes, I understand that the Ben Simmons situation is a huge domino waiting to fall, and until it does the conversations surrounding the situation are never going to stop. At a certain point, though, people outside of the tri-state area have to pay attention to what’s going on in south Philly.

 

This Sixers team isn’t “haunted” by Ben Simmons. If anything, it’s the other way around. I’d venture to say that the players in the locker room haven’t missed Simmons all that much this season, especially not during this stretch where they’ve won 15 of their last 18 games. Simmons, meanwhile, is watching this team grow and gel together while he loses game check after game check.

 

 

This Sixers team deserves attention beyond whatever fake trade rumor the media wants to cook up. They’re 31-19 for Christ’s sake. If the national media won’t give the Sixers attention for what they’re doing on the court, then I will.

 

Tyrese Maxey is a Star

 

People forget that if Ben Simmons wasn’t Charmin Ultra-Soft, we would have no idea how good Tyrese Maxey truly is.

 

The kid is special. Beyond what he has done on the court, he took the starting point guard position from day one of training camp and ran with it. He has done nothing but handle the drama of this season with the utmost humility and grace. All the while, he’s been nothing but an absolute dog on the court with a lovable, infectious personality off of it.

 

Maxey is going to be an all-star. Probably not this year, but he will be one day sooner rather than later. He plays the game of basketball the way Philly loves to see the game played. He gives 100% effort on every single play, and plays the game like he’s a lot bigger than he is.

 

He attacks the basket at a speed and tenaciousness that rivals anyone in the NBA. He’s fearless in the paint, even though he is more often than not the smallest player on the court.

 

Unlike Simmons, Maxey has done everything that has been asked of him to improve his game. He has improved his 3-point shot from 30% as a rookie all the way up to 40% this season, which is considered elite in the NBA. He has gotten infinitely better defensively. No, he’s not going to sniff any all-defensive teams, but he’s no longer the liability he was a season ago on that end of the court.

 

Despite this being his first full season as a starting point guard at the highest level of basketball, Maxey has mastered something that former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook has never figured out: how to not turn the ball over. Among all qualified starting point guards, Maxey ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio. The only man ahead of him is Chris Paul, one of the highest IQ players in the history of the sport. Safe to say Maxey is in good company.

 

Maxey has gone from being included as a sweetener in every Ben Simmons mock deal over the summer to being considered untouchable in any trade. The kid is special, in basketball and in life. Here’s to hoping he’s a Sixer forever.

 

 

Joel Embiid is the MVP. Disagree? Argue with a Wall.

 

Joel Embiid is the best player in the National Basketball Association right now. I’m not doing the Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic debate, they’re both outstanding players with drastically different play styles. Comparing the two because they play the same position and are the frontrunners for MVP is stupid. Enjoy them both.

 

That being said, in terms of “Most Valuable,” there is no one more valuable to their team right now than Embiid. Despite how impressive the win Monday night was without him, it’s obvious that this team would be nowhere near where they are right now without him.

 

This team has survived long stretches where they’ve missed key role players such as Seth Curry, Danny Green, and Matisse Thybulle. They were even kept afloat when Tobias Harris forgot how to play basketball for a few weeks in late December into early January. Obviously, they are also missing an all-star on a max contract. Yet, they find themselves 12 games over .500, 50 games into the season, largely because of one giant man’s Herculean efforts.

 

Embiid is playing the most jaw-dropping, efficient brand of offensive basketball we have ever seen from a guy his size. The expectations have gotten so high that when Embiid dropped 26 points, 9 boards, and 7 assists in an 18-point win against the Lakers last week, it was considered a down performance.

 

He’s sleepwalking his way to 30 & 10 every night while playing elite defense (although probably not up to his standards). Not to mention, he’s doing all of this while on pace to play the most games he ever has in a season. Over the years, Sixers fans have become accustomed to seeing Embiid miss the first game of a road trip, or the second game of a back-to-back.

 

Not this year. Before missing Monday night’s game, which I can only assume is because he heard the news of Rihanna’s pregnancy, Embiid had played a career high 21 straight games. He wasn’t just playing in those games, he was dominating those games, each and every one of them. He’s on a historic pace right now, putting up stats that only Wilt Chamberlain has done before him.

 

 

 

 

Individual success coupled with team success. I’m not sure what else Embiid has to do to garner the respect of MVP voters. If he’s not the MVP this season, I give up.

 

 

 

By Matt Szczypiorski | February 1, 2022
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