The Good:
- Nerlens Noel game Friday night. Forget who was not playing for New Orleans for the moment (more on that later), Noel’s game on Friday night was really enjoyable. I had been kind of sour on him lately and remarked to my buddy it’d be nice to see a solid game from him on Friday. I was more than satisfied. Noel looked like the defensive “pogo stick” he was excepted to be, blocking five shots and grabbing 11 rebounds. That went along with 17 points, nearly matching a career high, as well as two steals. It was one of those games that you weigh heavily in your mind as a positive when reflecting on Noel so far. Is he raw and streaky? Absolutely. But does he flash promise of being a solid defender and nice piece moving forward? Yes he does, as evidenced by this game.
- The win against New Orleans itself. No, not just the simple fact that they won—a while ago, that used to be an automatic qualifier for this category. Well, as this team approaches double digits in victory, it’s not quite as rare. What makes this one noteworthy is the simple fact that it was their first one against a team that was not starting their full starting lineup. New Orleans seemed to have legitimate injuries to both Anthony Davis and Jrue Holliday (the pair have missed the two games since, so their injuries check out), but the Sixers won their second game in two weeks in which a team had a not-so-full starting lineup. They beat Cleveland without LeBron James and Kyrie Irving two weeks ago. What it does for the very least is give opposing teams maybe a second thought about benching their starters.
The Bad:
- Playing off the last good point, the Sixers getting their butts kicked by a team resting three of five starters, and allowing one of the two starters actually playing to get his first career triple-double. While the Hawks are (rightfully so) gaining the reputation of running a “Spurs-East” lite version of the Spurs’ program and style, they are also resting starters like them. Against the Sixers, Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll were all given the night off. That was no problem, as the Hawks, led by Al Horford’s triple-double, routed the Sixers 105-87.
- The fact that teams rest players against the Sixers is rather disappointing. This is a year of evaluation, and it is more challenging to gauge the Sixers’ progression if they are not playing against teams’ actual lineups. Little match ups like Nerlens Noel vs. Anthony Davis carry more weight in enjoying a strong game from Noel as compared to Nerlens Noel vs. not Anthony Davis. Plus, the Sixers of course have the unspoken desire of wanting better lottery odds.
- Tony Wroten’s knee problem doesn’t seem to be going away. Earlier in the year, he’d be in-and-out of the lineup with problems of it acting up, and more recently he has missed each of the past four games. Wroten doesn’t appear to project as a future NBA starter, and if he keeps having injury flare ups, those chances only decrease.
The Ugly:
- I will not say that the ugly selection is that Joel Embiid has put on weight, per se, but rather the scary threat this may serve to the Sixers’ building is the ugly part. This could be crippling if this is a situation, combined with the apparent immaturity, that their building block may not be a guy to consistently rely on. Furthermore, the news he is blowing off workouts and conditioning drills is particularly worrisome because he also has a track record of having multiple injuries, both the foot and his back. The situation is not ugly yet, but the potential on the horizon is quite an ugly one.
Around the NBA:
- The Hawks are still red-hot, having now won 13 in a row. Their lead in the Eastern Conference has grown to five games, ahead of the Wizards.
- The Cleveland Cavilers and Miami Heat each swept the two LA teams at the Staples Center. The pair of victories for the Cavs put them back over the .500 mark, as it has coincided with James’ return to the lineup. The two wins for Miami has kept them in the top-8 for the playoff picture in the East.
- The Memphis Grizzlies pulled off a nice trade, acquiring small forward Jeff Green from the Celtics in exchange for a protected first round pick, and also sent Tayshaun Prince to Boston and Quincy Pondexter to the New Orleans Pelicans, who sent Austin Davis to the Clippers to reunite with father Doc.
