2019-20 NBA Thread: new forum, same great taste

[DJackson10 2,931]

On 7/13/2019 at 11:46 AM, Insein said:

Nobody knows who James Ennis is except for Sixer fans and Djax.

Ennis is really a nobody to casual fans. The Sixers will be a top 3 team in the East by default but they are in for a rude awakening in the playoffs. I don't see how they improved at all other then SG this offseason. Horford is a nice Crafy Vet not getting you over the hump though. Who's backing up Embiid and playing the 20-25 Games he's going to miss next year? Tobias Harris is an inconsistent player at best with questionable defense on the wing who they overpaid because Butler left as he wanted to be the guy elsewhere and clashed personality wise with Ben and Joel according to Woj. They also overpaid in the trade for Harris so they had no choice but to overpay in FA. Their PG for as nice of the stats he put up (Already went over why Triple Doubles don't mean as much anymore in the league) who can't shoot. They are gonna be regretting that contract in 3 yrs time. Their bench is one of the weakest in the NBA they did very little besides draft a rookie and bring back some decent role players. 

Edited July 15, 2019 by DJackson10

[DJackson10 2,931]

6 hours ago, caustic said:

Simmons and the Sixers have agreed to a 5 year, $170MM max extension per Shams.

Does it come with a 3PT shooting upgrade/boaster VC pack? 

[GOB 2,567]

45 minutes ago, DJackson10 said:

Does it come with a 3PT shooting upgrade/boaster VC pack? 

Nailed it, Djax. Love the brevity as well.

[Tom Hagen 1,592]

1 hour ago, DJackson10 said:

Who's backing up Embiid and playing the 20-25 Games he's going to miss next year? 

You keep asking this but I’m pretty certain the plan is to move Horford to the 5 when Embiid doesn’t play. 

[DJackson10 2,931]

13 minutes ago, Tom Hagen said:

You keep asking this but I’m pretty certain the plan is to move Horford to the 5 when Embiid doesn’t play. 

Something Horford apparently didn't like when he was in Boston? 

[Jayrod 4,341]

The more I read and think about it, the more I am certain that the Celtics need to trade Jaylen Brown for a good PF.  I don't see how they could pry one of these guys away, but someone in that realm of Paul Millsap, Thaddeus Young, Jerami Grant or PJ Tucker would be immensely more valuable to Boston than Jaylen currently is.

Letting both Horford AND Morris escape left a big roster hole.  Jaylen just feels like the most expendable to me.  You still have Tatum, Hayward and Smart with Langford and Edwards coming up as rookies to fill in.  Grant Williams is honestly the only true PF on the team.  Other than that, they are a bunch of SF's and C's that would have to move over into the PF role.

[modogg 4,709]

3 minutes ago, Jayrod said:

The more I read and think about it, the more I am certain that the Celtics need to trade Jaylen Brown for a good PF.  I don't see how they could pry one of these guys away, but someone in that realm of Paul Millsap, Thaddeus Young, Jerami Grant or PJ Tucker would be immensely more valuable to Boston than Jaylen currently is.

Letting both Horford AND Morris escape left a big roster hole.  Jaylen just feels like the most expendable to me.  You still have Tatum, Hayward and Smart with Langford and Edwards coming up as rookies to fill in.  Grant Williams is honestly the only true PF on the team.  Other than that, they are a bunch of SF's and C's that would have to move over into the PF role.

sheesh, you guys shooting for a 33 win season? can't do much with Jaylen in particular if they don't sign him to an extension. any team trading for him is taking a risk

outside of that Memphis pick, the C's really seemed to have wasted away their assets. not sure what they can trade to upgrade from Brown

[Frostillicus 14,053]

8 minutes ago, Jayrod said:

The more I read and think about it, the more I am certain that the Celtics need to trade Jaylen Brown for a good PF.  I don't see how they could pry one of these guys away, but someone in that realm of Paul Millsap, Thaddeus Young, Jerami Grant or PJ Tucker would be immensely more valuable to Boston than Jaylen currently is.

Letting both Horford AND Morris escape left a big roster hole.  Jaylen just feels like the most expendable to me.  You still have Tatum, Hayward and Smart with Langford and Edwards coming up as rookies to fill in.  Grant Williams is honestly the only true PF on the team.  Other than that, they are a bunch of SF's and C's that would have to move over into the PF role.

Gorgei Dieng is available.

[Insein 10,558]

18 minutes ago, DJackson10 said:

Something Horford apparently didn't like when he was in Boston? 

Embiid and Horford are only going to play about 60-65 games each. 17-22 of them will be to cover the other guys off day. That way it's not a big step down from when Embiid leaves. That means Horford only has to play the 5 about 25% of the season compared to the whole thing.

At least that would be my plan.

[modogg 4,709]

funniest quote of the day:

"Frank Vogel isn’t sure about who will start for Lakers because team is so deep: ‘When you have too many good players, that’s called a good problem’"

do start Davis, LeBron and...............  could say Danny Green but Toronto sat him for good portion of the year. I'm a Cousins fan, but hard having him start at this point (hard to have him sit on bench behind McGee)

[Jayrod 4,341]

19 minutes ago, modogg said:

funniest quote of the day:

"Frank Vogel isn’t sure about who will start for Lakers because team is so deep: ‘When you have too many good players, that’s called a good problem’"

do start Davis, LeBron and...............  could say Danny Green but Toronto sat him for good portion of the year. I'm a Cousins fan, but hard having him start at this point (hard to have him sit on bench behind McGee)

Kuzma, Cousins and Green will likely start.  Maybe Rondo some games.

[thecatch 2,213]

23 minutes ago, modogg said:

I'm a Cousins fan, but hard having him start at this point (hard to have him sit on bench behind McGee)

Maybe the most depressing thing anyone has written about Cousins’s career. 

[Long Ball Larry 14,290]

49 minutes ago, Jayrod said:

The more I read and think about it, the more I am certain that the Celtics need to trade Jaylen Brown for a good PF.  I don't see how they could pry one of these guys away, but someone in that realm of Paul Millsap, Thaddeus Young, Jerami Grant or PJ Tucker would be immensely more valuable to Boston than Jaylen currently is.

Letting both Horford AND Morris escape left a big roster hole.  Jaylen just feels like the most expendable to me.  You still have Tatum, Hayward and Smart with Langford and Edwards coming up as rookies to fill in.  Grant Williams is honestly the only true PF on the team.  Other than that, they are a bunch of SF's and C's that would have to move over into the PF role.

jerami grant would have been easy to have.

thad was a FA.  Tucker no way.  Millsap no way to match salaries.

[Long Ball Larry 14,290]

Memphis-Minnesota summer league final.

Western Conference Final preview?

[Frostillicus 14,053]

Remembrer what I said about Naz Reid.

[rascal 1,686]

3 hours ago, Jayrod said:

The more I read and think about it, the more I am certain that the Celtics need to trade Jaylen Brown for a good PF.  I don't see how they could pry one of these guys away, but someone in that realm of Paul Millsap, Thaddeus Young, Jerami Grant or PJ Tucker would be immensely more valuable to Boston than Jaylen currently is.

Letting both Horford AND Morris escape left a big roster hole.  Jaylen just feels like the most expendable to me.  You still have Tatum, Hayward and Smart with Langford and Edwards coming up as rookies to fill in.  Grant Williams is honestly the only true PF on the team.  Other than that, they are a bunch of SF's and C's that would have to move over into the PF role.

Keep your hands off millsap and grant.

[trader jake 1,385]

12 hours ago, Long Ball Larry said:

Memphis-Minnesota summer league final.

Western Conference Final preview?

Brandon Clarke has looked really good in Summer League and played well again last night.  I'm higher on him than some, but overall that Grizzlies squad with Ja Morant and JJJ is really intriguing.  I like what they're building in Memphis.

Can't say the same with the Timberwolves.  They're wise to go all in with KAT, but if there was a reasonable way to get off that Wiggins contract this offseason they should have done so.  Interested to see how Culver's game translates in his rookie season.

[Long Ball Larry 14,290]

23 minutes ago, trader jake said:

Brandon Clarke has looked really good in Summer League and played well again last night.  I'm higher on him than some, but overall that Grizzlies squad with Ja Morant and JJJ is really intriguing.  I like what they're building in Memphis.

Can't say the same with the Timberwolves.  They're wise to go all in with KAT, but if there was a reasonable way to get off that Wiggins contract this offseason they should have done so.  Interested to see how Culver's game translates in his rookie season.

Cole Zwicker and the Stepien had Clarke as like their 3rd-highest prospect from this draft.

sorry, 5: https://www.thestepien.com/

Culver as number 3.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Long Ball Larry

[wikkidpissah 18,173]

14 hours ago, Jayrod said:

The more I read and think about it, the more I am certain that the Celtics need to trade Jaylen Brown for a good PF.  I don't see how they could pry one of these guys away, but someone in that realm of Paul Millsap, Thaddeus Young, Jerami Grant or PJ Tucker would be immensely more valuable to Boston than Jaylen currently is.

Letting both Horford AND Morris escape left a big roster hole.  Jaylen just feels like the most expendable to me.  You still have Tatum, Hayward and Smart with Langford and Edwards coming up as rookies to fill in.  Grant Williams is honestly the only true PF on the team.  Other than that, they are a bunch of SF's and C's that would have to move over into the PF role.

for the next four years, i'm not going to be able to watch Romeo Langford play without wondering why he isn't Brandon Clarke

[Jayrod 4,341]

34 minutes ago, wikkidpissah said:

for the next four years, i'm not going to be able to watch Romeo Langford play without wondering why he isn't Brandon Clarke

Hopefully he can make you forget, but he is a huge pile of unknown right now.  Maybe the scouts saw something that isn't evident yet and there is a Donovan Mitchell type in there somewhere.

[wikkidpissah 18,173]

2 minutes ago, Jayrod said:

Hopefully he can make you forget, but he is a huge pile of unknown right now.  Maybe the scouts saw something that isn't evident yet and there is a Donovan Mitchell type in there somewhere.

dont watch much college ball (almost as inferior to pros as women's) except big games & some tourney so i saw Zags more'n once and came away not believing Clarke could be anything but a top 5 pick and not there when the Green picked in the draft. he not only was but was TWICE (1.14 & 1.20) and the Celts declined. this is gonna hurt...

[Good Posting Judge 13,667]

Cousins sucks.

[modogg 4,709]

5 minutes ago, Good Posting Judge said:

Cousins sucks.

i'd take Cousins over half of the starting centers in the league. we really want to argue guys like Kanter or McGee are better?

[Don't Noonan 5,721]

8 minutes ago, Good Posting Judge said:

Cousins sucks.

Sad that Cousins was ranked the third best player to build your franchise around just few years ago.  If he can overcome the injuries he can still be a very good player.  We will see.

[trader jake 1,385]

2 hours ago, Long Ball Larry said:

Cole Zwicker and the Stepien had Clarke as like their 3rd-highest prospect from this draft.

sorry, 5: https://www.thestepien.com/

Culver as number 3.

Big fan of Zwicker.  Missed him on Sam Vecenie's pod when he was working for the Suns last season - glad he's back.  I'm also very high on Clarke primarily due to his high athleticism and elite defensive instincts.  Just not sure if his lack of height and/or mediocre jumpshot will keep him as a decent player vs a potential difference maker.  If Morant pans out that JJJ/Valuc/Clarke big rotation could be tough.  The next few years they'll need to find wings that can shoot from long range and a 2 that can be a defensive force to free up Ja.

31 minutes ago, Jayrod said:

Maybe the scouts saw something that isn't evident yet and there is a Donovan Mitchell type in there somewhere.

The peeps on Romeo Langford will point to his wrist injury as one of the main the reasons his season at Indiana was a bit disappointing.  Maybe that ends up being the case, but his game appeared to have a lot more holes in it than that.  His defense, vision, and outside shot just didn't seem good enough to be a Oladipo-like NBA player.

4 minutes ago, Don't Noonan said:

Sad that Cousins was ranked the third best player to build your franchise around just few years ago.  If he can overcome the injuries he can still be a very good player.  We will see.

Sad that people had Cousins at 3 to build around, even pre-injury.  His ability is obvious but he's always been a problematic leader and to management.  He doesn't seem like a 'bad guy' but he doesn't appear to be a leader of men, and the way he interacts with the media and refs only hurts his case.  Add in the injury risks and the market has spoken on him two off-seasons in a row now.

[Long Ball Larry 14,290]

1 hour ago, trader jake said:

Big fan of Zwicker.  Missed him on Sam Vecenie's pod when he was working for the Suns last season - glad he's back.  I'm also very high on Clarke primarily due to his high athleticism and elite defensive instincts.  Just not sure if his lack of height and/or mediocre jumpshot will keep him as a decent player vs a potential difference maker.  If Morant pans out that JJJ/Valuc/Clarke big rotation could be tough.  The next few years they'll need to find wings that can shoot from long range and a 2 that can be a defensive force to free up Ja.

The peeps on Romeo Langford will point to his wrist injury as one of the main the reasons his season at Indiana was a bit disappointing.  Maybe that ends up being the case, but his game appeared to have a lot more holes in it than that.  His defense, vision, and outside shot just didn't seem good enough to be a Oladipo-like NBA player.

Sad that people had Cousins at 3 to build around, even pre-injury.  His ability is obvious but he's always been a problematic leader and to management.  He doesn't seem like a 'bad guy' but he doesn't appear to be a leader of men, and the way he interacts with the media and refs only hurts his case.  Add in the injury risks and the market has spoken on him two off-seasons in a row now.

Really liked Zwicker on Ben Taylor's pod, recapping the draft.  https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ben-taylor/thinking-basketball-podcast

[Juxtatarot 11,209]

So...AD might bail at the end of the year?

[Capella 29,626]

2 hours ago, Juxtatarot said:

So...AD might bail at the end of the year?

Is this the rumor?

[Frostillicus 14,053]

24 minutes ago, Capella said:

Is this the rumor?

He said something like "I don't know what's going to happen, I have one year here."

 

[Charlie Harper 1,149]

I think Cousins can still be effective in the league. Last year he was working his way back into game shape and what we saw in the playoffs was sad, but it was due to injury. He may not be a franchise cornerstone, but he's still a starter.

[Daywalker 3,034]

So Cousins is done because a torn achilles will leave you a shell of yourself?

[Juxtatarot 11,209]

7 hours ago, Capella said:

Is this the rumor?

Nichols: At your introductory press conference, they introduced you as someone who they hope will be a "pillar of the Lakers for a decade to come."

AD: Yeah.

Nichols: You're only signed through this season. Do you think you will be a pillar of the Lakers for years and years to come?

AD: Honestly, Rachel, I'm just focused on this season. I don't know what's going to happen. I have one year here, so I'm going make the best of this year. And when that time comes around in the summer or, you know, whenever the season's over -- hopefully, around, you know, mid-June, after we just had a parade, and I need a couple days to think -- then we can talk about that. But until then, I'm trying to do whatever I can to help this team win this year.

[trader jake 1,385]

1 hour ago, Juxtatarot said:

Nichols: At your introductory press conference, they introduced you as someone who they hope will be a "pillar of the Lakers for a decade to come."

AD: Yeah.

Nichols: You're only signed through this season. Do you think you will be a pillar of the Lakers for years and years to come?

AD: Honestly, Rachel, I'm just focused on this season. I don't know what's going to happen. I have one year here, so I'm going make the best of this year. And when that time comes around in the summer or, you know, whenever the season's over -- hopefully, around, you know, mid-June, after we just had a parade, and I need a couple days to think -- then we can talk about that. But until then, I'm trying to do whatever I can to help this team win this year.

None of that matters.  Last year at this time Kyrie was telling Celtics fans he's be back if they'd have him.  Then again, they wouldn't have him...so he told the truth.  Huh.  Time for LA to panic!!

[Leeroy Jenkins 2,756]

1 hour ago, trader jake said:

None of that matters.  Last year at this time Kyrie was telling Celtics fans he's be back if they'd have him.  Then again, they wouldn't have him...so he told the truth.  Huh.  Time for LA to panic!!

I mean his agent said no matter what, he was testing free agency, right?

[Jayrod 4,341]

So, after the dust is seemingly settled around the NBA off-season, below is how Vegas sees the season going (seeding based on average O/U win totals, playoffs based on average championship odds):

EAST:

• #1 Bucks vs. #8 Magic
• #4 Pacers vs. #5 Nets
• #3 Celtics vs. #6 Raptors
• #2 76ers vs. #7 Heat

Semis - Bucks vs. Nets,  Celtics vs. 76ers

ECF - Bucks over 76ers

WEST:

• #1 Clippers vs. #8 Spurs
• #4 Lakers vs. #5 Nuggets
• #3 Rockets vs. #6 Warriors
• #2 Jazz vs. #7 Blazers

Semis - Clippers vs. Lakers, Rockets vs. Jazz

WCF - Clippers over Rockets

CHAMPIONSHIP - Clippers over Bucks

Edited July 17, 2019 by Jayrod

[Insein 10,558]

32 minutes ago, Jayrod said:

So, after the dust is seemingly settled around the NBA off-season, below is how Vegas sees the season going (seeding based on average O/U win totals, playoffs based on average championship odds):

EAST:

• #1 Bucks vs. #8 Magic
• #4 Pacers vs. #5 Nets
• #3 Celtics vs. #6 Raptors
• #2 76ers vs. #7 Heat

Semis - Bucks vs. Nets,  Celtics vs. 76ers

ECF - Bucks over 76ers

WEST:

• #1 Clippers vs. #8 Spurs
• #4 Lakers vs. #5 Nuggets
• #3 Rockets vs. #6 Warriors
• #2 Jazz vs. #7 Blazers

Semis - Clippers vs. Lakers, Rockets vs. Jazz

WCF - Clippers over Rockets

CHAMPIONSHIP - Clippers over Bucks

Well we all know in the NBA everything goes according to plan.

[wikkidpissah 18,173]

20 hours ago, Don't Noonan said:

Sad that Cousins was ranked the third best player to build your franchise around just few years ago.  If he can overcome the injuries he can still be a very good player.  We will see.

He just was never going to work hard and big fellas gotta work as hard as small ones for win shares in the modern game. Came too easy, won't let anything harsh his cazh. Hopefully Embiid will find the difference between dominatorball & winning ball in that awful chemistry experiment in Philly, cuz i believe he wants to win. Just doesn't know how. But Boogie will only do what he does easily, when he feels it, results be damned, and that dont play anymore.

[DJackson10 2,931]

On 7/15/2019 at 9:56 PM, Insein said:

Embiid and Horford are only going to play about 60-65 games each. 17-22 of them will be to cover the other guys off day. That way it's not a big step down from when Embiid leaves. That means Horford only has to play the 5 about 25% of the season compared to the whole thing.

At least that would be my plan.

You're forgetting the 20-25 other games Joel will miss do to a tummy ache/Illness/Injury he usually misses 

[Insein 10,558]

1 minute ago, DJackson10 said:

You're forgetting the 20-25 other games Joel will miss do to a tummy ache/Illness/Injury he usually misses 

Joel has played 64 and 63 games the last two years. That's with the injuries. This year hopefully the missed games will be for load management to prevent the injuries. 

[DJackson10 2,931]

21 hours ago, Don't Noonan said:

Sad that Cousins was ranked the third best player to build your franchise around just few years ago.  If he can overcome the injuries he can still be a very good player.  We will see.

It's unfortunate he wasted half of his career in Sacramento too. 

[DJackson10 2,931]

3 minutes ago, Insein said:

Joel has played 64 and 63 games the last two years. That's with the injuries. This year hopefully the missed games will be for load management to prevent the injuries. 

Joel's knees are show unfortunately. Load management may only help so much. The reality is Joel might have 2-3 more prime yrs before his body finally gives in because he never took care of his body as an athlete at a younger age. No matter what you do you are just delaying the inevitable from happening 

The other side of this is Horford playing C here and I forget which one of you defended him signing in Philly with he didn't want to play C and all you guys are saying he'll back up Embiid. Seems more like a copout defense for overpaying Horford. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by DJackson10

[Tom Hagen 1,592]

50 minutes ago, DJackson10 said:

The other side of this is Horford playing C here and I forget which one of you defended him signing in Philly with he didn't want to play C and all you guys are saying he'll back up Embiid. Seems more like a copout defense for overpaying Horford. 

It's not a cop out, it's optionality to borrow a Hinkie word.  Horford gives you a quality starting 4 that has the ability to cover for Embiid when he's out. Based on everything we know about Horford, he's not going to cause problems because he has to play center 20-25 games a year.

[Long Ball Larry 14,290]

1 hour ago, DJackson10 said:

Joel's knees are show unfortunately. Load management may only help so much. The reality is Joel might have 2-3 more prime yrs before his body finally gives in because he never took care of his body as an athlete at a younger age. No matter what you do you are just delaying the inevitable from happening 

The other side of this is Horford playing C here and I forget which one of you defended him signing in Philly with he didn't want to play C and all you guys are saying he'll back up Embiid. Seems more like a copout defense for overpaying Horford. 

the reality is that if dumbo Fultz hadn't run into Embiid's face and if the training/coaching staff were more prudent, Embiid plays 72 games in each of the past 2 years.

And having Horford as an Embiid backup is completely part of the reason that they paid him.  They will have one of those guys on the floor for 48 minutes.  There is plenty of room for argument as to whether they paid too much for Horford, but the concept of him as Embiid's backup is not a good line of reasoning.

[mr. furley 12,233]

8 hours ago, Juxtatarot said:

Nichols: At your introductory press conference, they introduced you as someone who they hope will be a "pillar of the Lakers for a decade to come."

AD: Yeah.

Nichols: You're only signed through this season. Do you think you will be a pillar of the Lakers for years and years to come?

AD: Honestly, Rachel, I'm just focused on this season. I don't know what's going to happen. I have one year here, so I'm going make the best of this year. And when that time comes around in the summer or, you know, whenever the season's over -- hopefully, around, you know, mid-June, after we just had a parade, and I need a couple days to think -- then we can talk about that. But until then, I'm trying to do whatever I can to help this team win this year.

these types of questions are so dumb. there isn't a good answer. no matter what he says someone is going to hate him for it.

why would he say "oh yeah, Laker 4 life"?  he'd be killing any leverage he had for a contract and destroying his rep if he leaves.

[Juxtatarot 11,209]

6 minutes ago, mr. furley said:

these types of questions are so dumb. there isn't a good answer. no matter what he says someone is going to hate him for it.

why would he say "oh yeah, Laker 4 life"?  he'd be killing any leverage he had for a contract and destroying his rep if he leaves.

This is how I would answer:

"That would be great.  But, as you know, things in this league can change so fast.  It's hard to know for sure."

[Capella 29,626]

Hurt his contract leverage? He’s getting whatever the max is. He could stand on that podium and tell every laker fan to kiss his ### and he would get the max. 

[flranger 764]

11 hours ago, Juxtatarot said:

Nichols: At your introductory press conference, they introduced you as someone who they hope will be a "pillar of the Lakers for a decade to come."

AD: Yeah.

Nichols: You're only signed through this season. Do you think you will be a pillar of the Lakers for years and years to come?

AD: Honestly, Rachel, I'm just focused on this season. I don't know what's going to happen. I have one year here, so I'm going make the best of this year. And when that time comes around in the summer or, you know, whenever the season's over -- hopefully, around, you know, mid-June, after we just had a parade, and I need a couple days to think -- then we can talk about that. But until then, I'm trying to do whatever I can to help this team win this year.

This is actually the smartest thing he could and should say.  Just be consistent all year with it, don't apologize and roll with it all season.  So when they ask in every ####### press conference 82 games a year after the game he can say, well as I said in July "repeats same thing for 100th time" blah blah blah....

[caustic 3,736]

https://twitter.com/jasminelwatkins/status/1151249647387717633?s=21

[modogg 4,709]

9 hours ago, Jayrod said:

So, after the dust is seemingly settled around the NBA off-season, below is how Vegas sees the season going (seeding based on average O/U win totals, playoffs based on average championship odds):

EAST:

• #1 Bucks vs. #8 Magic
• #4 Pacers vs. #5 Nets
• #3 Celtics vs. #6 Raptors
• #2 76ers vs. #7 Heat

Semis - Bucks vs. Nets,  Celtics vs. 76ers

ECF - Bucks over 76ers

WEST:

• #1 Clippers vs. #8 Spurs
• #4 Lakers vs. #5 Nuggets
• #3 Rockets vs. #6 Warriors
• #2 Jazz vs. #7 Blazers

Semis - Clippers vs. Lakers, Rockets vs. Jazz

WCF - Clippers over Rockets

CHAMPIONSHIP - Clippers over Bucks

 538 gets closer than others:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/our-way-too-early-projections-for-the-2019-20-nba-season/

[modogg 4,709]

6 hours ago, Long Ball Larry said:

the reality is that if dumbo Fultz hadn't run into Embiid's face and if the training/coaching staff were more prudent, Embiid plays 72 games in each of the past 2 years.

And having Horford as an Embiid backup is completely part of the reason that they paid him.  They will have one of those guys on the floor for 48 minutes.  There is plenty of room for argument as to whether they paid too much for Horford, but the concept of him as Embiid's backup is not a good line of reasoning.

so many things going on with NBA and Sixers i almost totally forgot about that Fultz play to Embiid face. Between that, Ben stepping on whatchamacallit's foot, and Zaire food allergy, i can't believe Thybulle has made it this long without a piano falling on him