Don't Look Now But The Philadelphia 76ers Are An Absolute Joy To Watch Play Basketball

Smitty11/07/2023 3:10 PM

For those of you, myself included, who have grown weary of the cocktease franchise that is the Philadelphia 76ers and have taken the "Wait And See" and/or "Prove It To Me" approach to this season before getting fully invested, it might be time to start paying attention. The Sixers are 5-1 with the only loss being an opening night drop in Milwaukee by a single point (with questionable calls at the end going the Bucks way). This team is not only good, but someway, somehow the Sixers are arguably more fun to watch early on this season than any team over the entire Process.

It's early, obviously, but Nick Nurse is doing one helluva job with these men. It's simply refreshing to watch this Sixers team play basketball. The coaching and attitude. The hard as ass defense. The offensive cohesiveness. I mean, look at this sequence and tell me if you ever saw this type of ball movement on a Sixers set offense vs zone defense in the last half decade - like EVER:

It's so, so, SO invigorating to see offensive possessions - specifically in the 2nd half - that don't result in straight up iso-ball with 4 sec left on the shot clock. Obviously sometimes that's OK, but when you're relying for YEARS late in the game for Embiid to dominate/get fouled or a last second Harden step back/drive/foul, it gets a little frustrating. Stuff like this is is beautiful. Shit, even Furkan is getting Furky with it again on this play/past week and might not request a useless trade for another month. It's nice to see every player is buying in to the system no matter if it's the MVP or last guy off the bench.

Speaking of the MVP - Joel Hans Embiid has been RUTHLESS so far this season. Last night's stat line vs. the Wizards is the stuff of sorcery. 48 points on 17-25 FG, 14-14 at the line, 11 boards, 6 assists…in 31 minutes. The man dropped 29 in the third quarter alone, the most by a Sixers in any quarter in over 25 years.

Why yes, St. Nicholas Nurse, you may say that is quite efficient.

And it's not just Embiid playing above and beyond. Maxey is a certified All-Star who deserves the max. Tobias Harris is balling out in his contract year thanks to new responsibilities on offense that actually fit his game. Kelly Oubre Jr. is a straight up scorer who also steals James Harden's biddies. This team has fight and serviceable talent from all across the bench.

Oh, then you got Pat Bev who absolutely has that DAWG in him the Sixers have been waiting on for what seems like forever.

Pat Bev played 12 minutes last night and ended +27. I repeat, Patrick Beverly played 12 minutes last night AND ENDED +27. That's fucking impact. Also s/o to Nic Batum off the bench who had a +30 in 17 min of play. IMPACT GALORE.

AGAIN - it's early. But it's also a lot more fun than we ever thought it could be heading into this shitshow of a season. The vile Beard is gone and the boys are playing with absolute delight. Are they currently suited to pass the likes of Boston and the Bucks in the playoffs? Probably not. But at least there's hope early on. And if Daryl Morey can parlay the draft capital he received in the Harden trade for a baller around the trade deadline…look out. The Sixers might actually have a chance to advance past the 2nd round for the first time in a generation.