jvdesigns2002
Footballguy
I agree with you--but my point is this. The Sixers made that deal to give themselves and their MVP caliber franchise player the best shot at a championship. Embiid was not happy with them holding onto Simmons and the Sixers needed to make a move that gave him the best shot. Embiid was clearly happy when they made the move for Harden. Keeping Embiid happy is something that carries a lot of value for the Sixers--but the other posters that are using hindsight and a flukey Embiid injury are completely overlooking that fact.Reed and Jordan combined for 9 rebounds last night. The Heat were crushing with second chance points. Drummond is so much better than Jordan and had 20 rebound games this season and could protect the rim. Both games were close at points in the 4th quarter. Getting some rebounds could have turned the tide. But we will never know. Drummond isn't a game changer every day, but he was by far the best option behind Embiid that they ever had, and he did make a difference in games Embiid missed earlier in the year.
Even if they had Curry and Drummond in place of Harden for this series--the Sixers are not going to beat the Miami heat without Embiid. That's just the reality of the situation. Curry and Drummond are nice role players--but they are not difference makers that can make up for a top 2-3 MVP candidate missing games agains another elite team. Let's not overlook the fact that Curry and Drummond made virtually no difference or impact on the Nets. The Nets made it to the playoffs through the play-in game and then got swept by the Celtics. The Nets were lacking inside presence before Drummond--and even with him--they didn't get much better. If you watched the Celtics vs Nets series--what killed the Nets was that they were very unorganized and scattered on offense--especially late in games. This is because trading Harden away left them in position to where Kyrie and Durant were stuck being not only primary scorers--but primary playmakers--and this hurt them. Harden would have helped them tremendously in that series.
My point is this--if the Sixers lose this series--it's not because of that trade. It's because Embiid got hurt.