So I caught Celtics 109 – 76ers 101 followed Clippers 84 – Mavericks 78.
This pic of Embid encapsulates how the 76ers looked like to me. Sure that may not represent their whole team but Embid is their main guy and trust me he sort of looked that way most of the game.
As a fan of the game it’s disappointing to see a main guy or any guy go out the court looking like that and in the Playoffs as well. He is a rebounding leader at 16/game and obviously a dominating big but it didn’t show today.
On the other hand his sub Al Horford has to be one of my favorite players today and I’ve been meaning to look him up since he was in Atlanta then later Boston. The man is a beast, he dominates on the post and plays the long court as well. He is the perfect C-F if you were to make a line up for a fast running team. A coach can put him in a guard heavy lineup and the opposing bigs will eat his dust. I just found out he’s 34 so that means he’s just about getting up there so I hope he gets his time in the sun. He’s the kind of guy who shines in any team he’s in and he’s frankly the only reason I’d watch another Phila game.
As per the Clips – Dall game I’m just going to say out loud now that as of today I’ve got the Clippers going all the way. I haven’t watched the Lakers and Bucks yet but I’ve got a good feeling from these guys.
Mainly because of this guy
There’s something about George and how calm and collected he is. Looking at the stats now I didn’t realize he’s 30yo and wow how time flies, but at the same time I’m guessing this is the best time for a guy like him anyway, who now not only has the athletic ability but the wisdom that comes from playing 9 years in the NBA as well.
It’s premature to say the Clipps will go all the way this year but at the moment they seem the most balanced and collected from what I’ve seen so far especially at the end game. They’re not streaky, they don’t do highs and lows, they just keep executing and as we should all know by now stability is what wins games in the long run.
And that’s what it is – a long run. Trying to put myself in their place they are probably itching to go home and have just about run out of things to amuse or distract themselves between games. There’s no family to go home to, no outside diversions or obligations to deal with, no movie or music videos they have to cameo in, they can’t even do commercials for whatever brand their endorsing. They just go to the gym, their hotel and games.
So they’re either focused as heck or bored out of their minds. It’s hard enough to maintain energy pre – Covid but the bubble introduces new challenges to both players and coaches.
So they’ll have to deal with that as well on top of the challenges of the game.