Author: wmv5027

Shockingly and unfortunately, the 76ers will not be able to play for a championship this season, and neither will any other NBA team – at least anytime in the near future. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the league announced that the season will be suspended indefinitely. In a rapid turn of events, the league went from one of competition to one in hysteria. So how exactly did this happen, and what does this mean for the remainder of the season?

On January 20, 2020, the first known cause of Covid-19 was confirmed in the United States. After spreading for over a month in China, the virus had finally reached the United States in Washington state. Throughout the remainder of January and throughout February, the virus continued to spread within the state and across the country. However, the world of sports was not impacted until March 10 when the Ivy League announced that it would cancel all basketball tournaments and limit the number of spectators at all spring sports. One day later Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus. In an enormous display of irony, Gobert had “mocked” the virus only two days before, touching every microphone during a press conference to show his disbelief in the severity of the disease. It was unknown exactly how many people came into contact with that equipment, but it was a truly concerning occurrence for the league. Well, karma really came around quickly, and Gobert tested positive for the virus less than two days later. On March 11, the NBA canceled the rest of the season indefinitely. The following day, commissioner Adam Silver released a statement that the NBA intended to resume the season when it becomes safe for everyone who is involved.

For the time being, the league is unsure of what exactly the rest of the season will bring. By March 18, the virus had continued to spread throughout the league. The entire Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder teams were tested for Covid-19. Although all Thunder players and staff tested negative, multiple people within the Nets organization tested positive, including superstar Kevin Durant. On March 19, the NBA sent a memo to all 30 teams that they must close all training and practice facilities until further notice. This left players with little opportunity to practice and work out other than at their own homes as the league continued to try and sort out what would happen with the season. Later in the day, the Sixers and Nuggets confirmed cases within their organization (three and one, respectively). The Lakers also confirmed cases within their organization during the same evening. Covid-19 has continued to make its way through the league, and it seems that the virus will set the timetable for when the league will return.

Around the league, there is hope that games could be resumed by late June or, at the latest, August. However, there is truly too much uncertainty at this point. Adam Silver believes that the league can salvage some of the season and still play for the fans, but the season must end with enough time to give players time to rest and recover before next season starts. Overall, we are truly in uncharted territory as a nation and around the world. Although the suspension of the NBA is saddening, it pales in comparison to the current state of affairs around the world. Stay healthy everyone!

After Philadelphia’s disappointing loss to the Cavaliers, the team headed back to their welcoming home against the New York Knicks. Just like they have done all season long, the team appears to not be able to do any wrong in front of the home crowd. Without Ben Simmons, who missed the game with a back injury, and Joel Embiid, who suffered a sprained shoulder in the previous game, the short-staffed Sixers were able to take care of the 17-42 Knicks, 115-106. Tobias Harris led the way with 34 points in a bounce-back win for the Philadelphia Sixers. On top of the win, the Sixers also received word that Embiid had not done any structural damage and would be re-evaluated in a week for signs of healing. The best news they could have gotten given the circumstances, the team prepared for a long week without at least one, and maybe both, of their superstars.

To start off the month of March, the Sixers traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers, who they had defeated a few short weeks back. However, the Philadelphia lineup looked very different from the previous game, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were too much for the Sixers to handle. Shake Milton led the way with 39 points, but the team fell short during the 136-130 loss. Given the circumstances, the Sixers did not look too bad. Losing by 6 points to a team on the road led by 2 of the league’s best players without Simmons and Embiid was not a bad game for the Sixers. However, they would have to play even better if they were to beat Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers later in the week.

The Sixers spent an extended stay in Los Angeles and had the opportunity to make a statement in the league with major road wins without Simmons and Embiid (who both were still out). Even after losing to the Clippers, Philadelphia had hope that the next game would be different. Unfortunately, it was very similar. The team fought hard and played well, especially given the circumstances, but the Lakers held off the injury-depleted Sixers 120-107, led by Anthony Davis and his 37 points. Thanks in part to a phenomenal second quarter by Davis, the Lakers were able to take home the win and push the Sixers out of Los Angeles with a second loss.

After a rough two home games, the Sixers would have loved to returned to their safe haven of the Wells Fargo Center. unfortunately, their road trip continued. Seeking their first home win in more than a month, the Sixers, still without Simmons and Embiid, hoped to squeeze out a win against the Sacramento Kings, who have been around .500 (equal number of wins and losses) at home this season. Somewhat shockingly, the Sixers were able to do just that. Tobias Harris notched 28 points and 14 rebounds en route to a 125-108 Philadelphia victory that ended more than 4 weeks of no road victories for the team. A small victory for the team for more than one reason, the Sixers hoped to use that win as the spark that they needed to find themselves on the road and make the push to be a serious playoff contender. Tune back in and read my next blog to continue to follow the Sixers as the team tries to finish the season strong amongst injuries and other uncertainties!

 

 

(Quick note: Since my last post, the Sixers have played 11 games, and there are many headlines that need to be addressed. First and foremost, the NBA has suspended all games throughout the remainder of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, I will discuss this more in-depth in a later blog. For now, I will talk about how the Sixers played since I last posted.)

Since February 11, the Sixers have competed in 11 games. At the start of this period, they were sitting in 5th place in the East and were coming off a 2-2 record in their previous 4 games. Looking to make a run towards the playoffs, Philadelphia had to step up their performance, especially on the road, if they wanted to compete for a top seed heading into the playoffs.

The Sixers started with 2 home games against the Clipper and the Nets. As the Sixers have done all season, they took care of business at the Wells Fargo Center and won both games. Ben Simmons led the charge against the Clippers, recording a triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in front of a sold-out crowd. The Nets game, a double-overtime thriller, was highlighted by 39 points and 16 rebounds from Joel Embiid, who helped lead the Sixers to another strong home win. Soon after, the Sixers took a trip to Milwaukee to play the Bucks, who they had lost to merely two weeks before. Heading back to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and seek redemption against the top team of the East, the Sixers could not come through. They dropped yet another road game, 119-98, as Anteokounompo scored 31 points and secured 17 rebounds in the dominant victory. Although the loss was disappointing for the team, they had to refocus and prepare for the Hawks, who visited Philadelphia two days later.

Looking for a bounceback game after the loss in Milwaukee, the Sixers brought the fire against a struggling Atlanta team. In particular, Joel Embiid scored a career-high 49 points on 17 shots and went 14-15 from the free-throw line. Tobias Harris added another 25 points in support, and the Sixers continued their domination at home for the season, improving to 27-2 at the Wells Fargo Center. Coming off the win, the Sixers looked to continue their winning ways against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have struggled since Lebron James left 2 years ago. However, there was one issue: the game was on the road. Sadly, the Sixers, again, failed to come through and win a game that should have been an easy victory. They gave up 108 points to a team that was 9-22 at home, while only scoring 94. To make matters worst, Joel Embiid, coming off one of the best games of his career, sprained his shoulder in the first quarter and missed the remainder of the game.

Coming off the loss, the Sixers turned their sights towards the remainder of their February schedule and looked to start March on a positive note. So, how did the team fair against the Knicks and the Clippers? How long will Joel Embiid be out? Tune in to the next blog to find out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged, so let’s get right into it. Although Philadelphia has only gone 2-2 in the past 4 games, the team has finally been able to move past the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings, moving up one spot into 5th place. This is, of course, more due to the fact that the Pacers have not won a game since January 29, dropping their last 6 consecutive games. While the Sixers need to be able to “control their own destiny” and move up in the playoff standings due to their own winning and not other teams’ losses, moving up to 5th place is certainly great for Philadelphia. Focusing back on the Sixers and their own games, how did the last 4 games go for them?

When I last wrote, the Sixers were preparing to head to South Beach to take on the the 4th place Miami Heat (who are now directly above the Sixers in the Eastern Conference standings). All season long the Heat have dominated at AmericanAirlines Arena, their home court; they have a record of 22-3 there this season. Led by superstar small forward Jimmy Butler (who spent last season in Philadelphia), the Heat were able to beat the Sixers fairly handily, pulling out a 137-106 victory. Although the game was back and forth for the first half, a season-high 38 points from Jimmy Butler combined with 24 points from point guard Goran Dragic off the bench was too much for the Sixers to handle.

Last Thursday, the Sixers traveled to Milwaukee in hopes of avenging their blowout loss in Miami. However, the Sixers were up against a similar, if not even more difficult, challenge: the Bucks boast a 24-3 record at home this season, the best in the league (the Sixers actually have the second best record at home this year). Led by reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Sixers knew that they had their work cut out for them. Joel Embiid was given the task of defending, or at least trying to contain, Antetokounmpo. However, the latter seemed to win the night, as Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 20 rebounds en route to a 112-101 Milwaukee victory. After being on the road for four games, the Sixers were able to return home and hopefully get back on the winning side.

After a testing road trip, the Sixers opened up the first of 4 home games against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies sit at 8th in the Western Conference, on the fringe of making the playoffs; needless to say, the team has nothing to lose and will try to fight for every win. In typical Sixers fashion, the team was able to pull out a victory on their home court, limiting Ja Morant to 15 points and snapping their 4-game losing streak. Furkan Korkmaz had a career-high 34 points, while Ben Simmons recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds. This was a good bounce-back victory for the Sixers, restoring the confidence in a team that just could not seem to get it going in the prior games.

Finally, the Sixers squared off against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, who currently are sitting in 10th place in the East. Although they are not one of the best teams the Sixers play, this game could have been seen as more of a “trap” game, one in which the Sixers underestimate Chicago and let a must-win slip away. However, the Sixers were able to take care of business, pulling away with a 118-111 victory and improving their record at the Wells Fargo Center to 24-2. Furkan Korkmaz led the charge with 31 points, while Joel Embiid finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds. This win helped the Sixers solidify their 5th place position in the East, and put them back on a 2-game win streak.

However, as I mentioned before, the Sixers went 2-2 in their past 4 games. Both games they won were at home, while the 2 games they lost were, as I mentioned, on the road. Through their last 9 games, Philadelphia has won every game at home and lost every game away. As I mentioned before, this is a big problem for the team, and it is becoming more and more pressing as the season starts to wind down and we turn our calendars from January to February and, before you know it, to March. The Sixers have 2 more games at home, tonight against the the Clippers and Thursday against the Nets, before heading back to Milwaukee for a rematch with the Bucks. Hopefully Philadelphia can continue their winning ways at home, as well as get their act together when the play on the road; we will have to wait and see!

Another week has passed in the NBA, and the Sixers have played three more games. As January turned to February, the league is slowly but surely moving towards the playoffs, and the Sixers are still sitting in the middle of the pack of playoff-bound teams. Coming in with a 31-19 record, Philadelphia is still a game behind the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Lakers last weekend, the Sixers hosted the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday before heading on the road to take on the Hawks and the Celtics. So, how did the Sixers do this past week, and what is their upcoming schedule looking like?

On January 28, the Sixers faced the struggling Warriors, who currently boast the worst record in the league, sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with an 11-39 record. After winning 57 games last season and losing in The Finals, the Warriors have truly fallen off; it seems that the Golden State dynasty, which grew to dominate the league through the 2010s, has come to an end (at least for now). Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL in last year’s finals. Kevin Durant was lost in free agency. Then Steph Curry broke his hand early on this season. The Warriors have suffered huge blows to their lineup in the last year, and they are truly feeling the effects. That being said, the Sixers were expected to win this game, and indeed they did. Joel Embiid, back from injury, led the charge with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Simmons added another 17 points, while Raul Neto scored 20 off the bench. For the Warriors, D’Angelo Russel had 28 points with 5 rebounds. Glenn Robinson III had 20 points and Marquese Chriss had 15; however, Draymond Green only had 9. With many starters injured, Green is looked up as a leader of the team and will have to put up better numbers in the ensuing weeks if the Warriors have any hope of winning a couple of games, although at this point they are really only playing for pride. With that win, the Sixers recorded their 31st win of the season and continued to remain in playoff contention. However, they then had to head on the road to begin their 4 game road trip, a time that will certainly bring hardship for a team that has not played well on the road all season.

Last Thursday, the Sixers traveled to Atlanta to play the Hawks, who are bringing up the rear of the Eastern Conference with a 13-37 record. Although this game seemed like it should be a fairly easy win for the Sixers, their track history on the road suggested otherwise. In the end, that history ended up being right: the Sixers lost 127-117, a huge blow for a team that is looking to make a statement as one of the dominant teams from the east. This is Atlanta’s 4th win against the Sixers in their last 5 meetings, continuing to prove just how tough of a matchup the Hawks are for the Sixers. The Sixers looked sluggish out of the gate, allowing Hawks second-year star Trae Young to score 39 points and record 18 assists, leading the charge for Atlanta. Ben Simmons led the Sixers with 31 points, but his efforts were not enough. As the Sixers dropped another on the road, they had to look forward to the next matchup: heading to Boston to take on the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics sit at third in the Eastern Conference, 33-15 on the season. Led by Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward, the Celtics are 20-5 at their home, TD Garden. Opposing teams have struggled to win there all season long, and it was no exception for the Sixers. The Sixers lost by 21 points, 116-95. Embiid played one of the worst games of his career, shooting 1-11 from the field and 0-4 from three, finishing with 11 points in total (9 of which were from the free-throw line). Ben Simmons dropped 23 points to lead the Sixers, and Furkan Korkmaz had 14 himself. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 32 and 25 points, respectively. 3 other Celtics recorded double-digit points, propelling Boston to a comfortable victory over the Sixers.

The Sixers’ road struggles continue to plague them, and it will definitely need to be addressed as the season comes closer to the end. However, this rest of this road trip will prove to be a great test for the team. They travel to Miami tomorrow night before heading to Milwaukee on Thursday. Friday night, the Sixers will be back in Philadelphia against the Grizzlies. This week will prove to be a test for the Sixers, so let’s see if they can snap their 2-game skid and get back in the win column!

The Sixers have only played one game since I last blogged, and it was a home matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in first place in the Western Conference and have the second-best record in the entire league. Led by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have one of the strongest lineups in the NBA right now. Philadelphia knew going into the game that it would be a tough matchup, but a winnable one if everyone stepped up and played to their full potential.

In front of a sold out Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, the Sixers did not disappoint. Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons led the team with 29 and 28 points respectively, helped out by 16 additional points from Al Horford and another 22 points coming from different players off the bench. As the clock reached 0, the Sixers had put up a grand total of 109 points, the fifth game out of the last six that they scored triple digits. Ben Simmons added 10 rebounds to the stat line, while Shake Milton grabbed another 9 rebounds. The balance between scorers and the ability for different bench players to step up and perform when their name was called is what I believe was the difference in this game. On the other side of the ball, Anthony Davis and LeBron James scored a majority of the points, combining for 60 of the 91 points for Los Angeles. Both stars had 7 rebounds each and attempted to carry their team to a win; however, it was not quite enough.

Despite the loss, LeBron James was able to make history Saturday night in Philadelphia, passing Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time scoring list in NBA history. With a tribute written to Kobe on his shoes, a mid-third quarter layup put him at 33,644 career points. Moving his way up in the record books, James continues to construct and build his legacy; next up on the list is Karl Malone, a power forward who played 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and scored 36,928 points in total.

However, despite the importance of record books and numerical stats, the NBA community received some shocking news on Sunday afternoon; Kobe Bryant, one of the most notable players of the last 20 years and among the debate for one of the greatest players of all time, passed away after a horrific helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. With him in the helicopter was his daughter Gianna, as well as six other family friends; nobody survived the crash. A heart-breaking occurrence, Bryant will be missed greatly, known not only as a star on the court, but also a motivator and overall inspiration off it. More details continue to surface as time goes on, and additional investigations will provide more insight into what exactly happened in that helicopter.

As the NBA attempts to get back to some sense of normalcy after this shocking news, the Sixers tip off against the Golden State Warriors tonight in Philadelphia, followed by a trip to Atlanta to take on the Hawks on Thursday evening. As time goes on, these games become more and more crucial for the Sixers; let’s see how Philadelphia does as they finish out January!

 

 

As the dust settles on another week in the NBA, the Sixers remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and moved their record to 29-17. The Pacers, who are holding onto the fifth place spot, are sitting at 29-16, meaning the Sixers have plenty of opportunity to improve their playoff standing with much of the season still to play. Above the Pacers, the Boston Celtics sit at fourth, Raptors at third, Miami Heat are in second, and the Milwaukee Bucks, who boast a league-best record 39-6, are in first place.

Over the past 8 days, the 76ers played five games, winning the first four and dropping the fifth game last night in Toronto against the Raptors. While these numbers look promising, they should be taken with a grain of salt; the only team the Sixers played over this span with a record over .500 was the Raptors (who they lost to). The 18-24 Brooklyn Nets, 17-29 Chicago Bulls, and 12-33 New York Knicks should all have been wins for Philadelphia, and they were good games to capitalize on. The Raptors sit at third in the Eastern Conference, and a win over the defending NBA champions “from the North” would have been big. However, when looking at the Sixers road record (a dismal 9-15) and the Raptors home record (16-7), the Raptors seemed heavily favored before tip-off.

Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 22 points and 6 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added another 17 points with 10 rebounds. Off the bench, Furkan Korkmaz dropped another 17 points and 2 more rebounds. On the other side, Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with 22 points and 8 assists, followed up by 18 points from Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell each. Every player that scored for the Raptors that scored ended with at least 16 points, and the scoring was spread well across the board.

Joel Embiid, the Sixers star center, is still out from tearing his left hand’s fourth metacarpal on January 6th, which required surgery. He was cleared to practice on January 16, and he may possibly suit up and play for the upcoming game on Saturday versus the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are first in the Western Conference and boast a 35-9 record, which will prove to be a tough matchup for the Sixers. In addition, Philadelphia will have to play without guard Josh Richardson, who strained his hamstring in the first quarter of the game against Toronto. Richardson, who has been starting for the team, failed to score before he left the game and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks before his next reevaluation for his hamstring. Philadelphia will need all hands on deck for the next few weeks while the Sixers continue to lose starters.

The Sixers have two home games versus the Lakers and the Warriors, followed by four games on the road in a row. Those road games will prove to be challenging for the Sixers, who still struggle to win on the road; hopefully they will figure something out. Tune in this Saturday at 8:30 PM to see their next game!

 

For my next semester of passion blogs, I will be writing about the Philadelphia 76ers, the professional basketball team from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as members of the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They are coached by Brett Brown and play at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

At this point, the 76ers are exactly halfway done their 2019-2020 season. They have played 41 of their 82 regular season games and boast a record of 25-16, putting them 9 games over .500 (9 more wins than losses) and sixth in their conference. If the season were to end today, the Sixers would finish as 6th out of 8 in the Eastern Conference and make the playoffs, as the top 8 teams in each conference make the playoffs for a total of 16 teams. After finishing third in the Eastern Conference last season, the Sixers are looking to continue their season with hopes of moving up in the playoff picture come the end of April, typically when the season ends.

 

The last game the 76ers played was Monday evening against the Indiana Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana. After a tight game, the Pacers pulled away with the win, 101-95. With this win, Indiana moved into fifth place in the East and knocked the Sixers to sixth. Guards Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson led Philadelphia with 24 and 23 points respectively, while forward Tobias Harris added another 15. Simmons also led the team with 14 rebounds, but his efforts were not enough to clinch the win. On the other side, T.J. Warren and Malcolm Brogdon both accumulated 21 points each for Indiana, while Myles Turner and Justin Holiday added another 14 each.

Sixers star center Joel Embiid, who has battled with injury and illness during his career this far, suffered a gruesome injury last Monday night that puts a bit of uncertainty in his availability over the next few weeks and into the spring. His ring finger was severely dislocated and, despite finishing the game with a heavily taped hand, the Sixers now realize that his injury is far worse than they originally suspected. They announced at the end of last week that Embiid had torn a ligament in his left hand and will undergo surgery to fix it. Although no set timetable has been set, many trainers believe that he will not be returning for quite some time.

Going into the midway point of the season, the Sixers are on a bit of a skid: they have dropped 6 of their last 8 games with all 6 coming on the road. Philadelphia coaches, players, and fans alike are struggling to figure out what the issue is with the current lineup and why it cannot seem to produce any recent victories while playing as the visiting team. As the second half of the season rolls around, Philadelphia needs to figure out its road problems sooner rather than later. Embiid’s injury does not help the equation, and the Sixers will need other players to step up in big ways if the team wants to continue playing at the level it should. Philadelphia has 2 home games this week, tomorrow night versus the Brooklyn Nets and Friday versus the Chicago Bulls, before hitting the road and squaring off against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.