Was The Sixers Loss to the Nets a Reason to Panic or a Needed Wake Up Call?

The Sixers loss to the Nets last Thursday night was truly awful. The most anticipated regular season game of the season was an instant dud and the only way it could have been worse was if Ben Simmons actually played in that game rather than sit on the bench in a Louis Vuitton sweater.

And we all know who was grinning the whole time: Bill Simmons. The title of his Friday night Ringer show featured the words “Small Game James” referring to James Harden’s history of coming up small in big games, including this one. Followers of Harden the past decade are well aware of how he falters in the playoffs. He’s only participated in one NBA Finals when he was the Sixth Man for the Oklahoma City Thunder and he was also miserable in those NBA Finals against the Big 3 Miami Heat.

Sixers fans who follow the NBA in general were also aware of that, but now that he’s a member of their team its the first cold splash of reality right in their face. The only good thing about this is that fact that this happened in a regular season game, the first big-stakes game of the James Harden Era.

This raises the question: Should this be the time to panic that this new-look Sixers could combust in the playoffs again, or is this a needed wake-up call for a team that was in its honeymoon phase with James Harden. Believe it or not folks, but the rest of the season with Harden was going to be all sunshine and rainbows, this probably wasn’t going to turn out to be like 1983 where the entire season and postseason was a breeze to a championship. Knowing this era of Sixers basketball and Harden himself of course there’s going to be wild peaks and valleys through the season. The only thing is hopefully those peaks will finally occur in a big playoff game with everything on the line.

While it is great to have James Harden who has revived interest in Philadelphia basketball and somehow was involved in deal that finally sent Ben Simmons packing, it’s still a possibility that the Sixers could falter like they did Thursday night in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs. If you’re a Sixer fan, you should be well aware of the fact that anytime you think the team is guaranteed to go on a deep playoff run, you only leave yourself vulnerable to getting your heart ripped out of your soul again.

Sixer fans have had their hearts ripped out of their souls in three of the last four seasons, and in my opinion the one that ended with a miraculous 4-bounce basket was the LEAST painful. So while it’s still great to have James Harden and Ben Simmons not on the team anymore, we need find the right balance of excited while also cautiously optimistic. The other good news is that they’ll likely run it back with Harden and Joel Embiid next season as well, with the duo ready to have a full season together to develop chemistry.

It’s also worth pointing out that when at full strength the Brooklyn Nets are really, really good, especially when their leader Kevin Durant is motivated to put on a show. The only problem for Brooklyn is that come playoff time they have to deal with their albatross: Benjamin David Simmons.