The Official 2022-2023 Philadelphia 76ers Thread

jack walsh13

Jack Walsh 13
BGOL Investor
Five things we learned about the Sixers in their intrasquad scrimmage, including Matisse Thybulle’s crazy D

The Sixers eased into their preseason Saturday with their annual intrasquad scrimmage. The rosters were essentially Starters vs. Bench, with the Starting 5 plus Raul Neto and Furkan Korkmaz on the Blue Team and all of the rest of the key reserves on the White Team (starting for the latter: Trey Burke, Matisse Thybulle, James Ennis, Mike Scott, Kyle O’Quinn).

A few takeaways from our first extended chance to watch this team in action:

1. Matisse Thybulle brings unique skills to the court, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it manifests itself once the NBA preseason begins and the intensity and competition ratchet up a notch. Within the first 17 minutes of the scrimmage, the rookie first-round pick had five steals and a ferocious swat of a Josh Richardson three-pointer that drew some serious “ooohs” from the crowd. Thybulle hunts the ball on defense like a golden retriever who’s been cooped up inside all day, and his seven-foot wingspan can really mess with an opposing ballhandler’s spatial awareness. Early in the first period, he picked Al Horford’s pocket from his blindside as the latter was setting up in the post. Later, he had a clean steal of Simmons off the dribble. But his loudest play came three minutes into the second period, when he covered 15 to 20 feet of court in a few strides to get back in transition and stun Richardson by coming from out of nowhere to send his three-point attempt into the second row of seats.

It’s easy to see why the Sixers were enamored with Thybulle on draft night, especially when he is matched up against someone like Ben Simmons, who was his main assignment. While Simmons has half a foot on Thybulle, Thybulle’s long arms somehow make the two look more even in dimensions than the raw numbers indicate. That suggests an intriguing amount of potential as you project him and match him against today’s increasingly long and nimble guards and wings.

We didn’t get to see much out of Thybulle on the offensive end. He clanked a dunk attempt off the front of the rim, was blocked by Al Horford in transition, and missed an open catch-and-shoot three (on the flip side, he finished his first attempt at the rim, drawing a foul in the process).

2. Sticking with the young kids, coach Brett Brown recently referred to Zhaire Smith as a “pogo stick” and we saw a little bit of that in the closing seconds of the second period, when he got into the lane and got off the ground and up to the rim faster than either of the defenders who were around him, laying in a bucket that helped the White team to a halftime lead. While Smith and Thybulle play the same position, and are likely competing for the same bucket of minutes, they are much different players, and it is going to be interesting to see how the competition between them unfolds. Like Thybulle, Smith spent much of his time on the court matched up against Simmons. And, like Thybulle, he has the makings of a solid defender, if not a plus one. Smith’s chief attributes are his quick-twitch athleticism and his strength. There was a play in the first half where Smith did a nice job to move his feet and keep his body in front of Simmons on a right-handed drive late in the first period. He absorbed a body blow from Simmons that stopped the latter’s progress without giving up an inch of his own.

3. Speaking of Simmons: We did not see him shoot anything outside the paint, although we didn’t have much of an opportunity. His real chance came early in the second period, when he caught the ball at the top of the arc with the White Team in mid-rotation and would have had an open look at a three. Instead, he charged straight to the rim and finished an off-balance layup.

Simmons had another opportunity in the second half when Thybulle dropped into the paint to cover Horford and Simmons got the kick-out pass in the corner. Instead of looking to shoot, he made the higher percentage play and took an open baseline for a big dunk.

4. With Simmons on the bench late in the third period, Tobias Harris brought the ball up the court and into a middle pick-and-roll play that resulted in Jonah Bolden’s switching onto him. Harris backed the ball out and took advantage of the speed mismatch, beating Bolden to the spot in the paint and using his length to finish a smooth four-footer. The scrimmage offered plenty of chances to watch Harris work with the ball in his hands. That’s something you are going to see a lot more of this season, especially, one would assume, during Simmons’ breathers. I don’t think you can read too much into Brown’s substitution patterns during this game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a conscious thing to keep Harris out there after both Simmons and Josh Richardson had checked out of the game during the starters’ first shift.

The expectation is that Harris will get a lot of the pick-and-roll opportunities that featured Jimmy Butler late last season. Harris isn’t as strong a ballhandler as Butler, and opponents tried to crowd him on the dribble in the postseason. That will be something to watch as the preseason continues.

5. It’s hard to overstate how much better this defense has the potential to be simply with the addition of Al Horford. If there is a more technically sound defender in the league, I’d like to see him. Horford had a couple of blocks in transition and another one in the post. Given how much worse the Sixers have been without Joel Embiid on the court, the ability to stagger him and Horford and keep a top defensive center out there at all times should pay huge dividends.

Matisse Thybulle will be huge with his defense. Simmons better shoot the fuckin ball. :angry: Embiid losing 20 pounds helps a lot. Finally taking his body more serious in the off season. 1st season where he wasn't rehabing an injury too so that helped. Should be a good year. Brett Brown will ruin it with his non coaching ass at some point I know it. Imma fuck dat pussy up. :angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

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jack walsh13

Jack Walsh 13
BGOL Investor
Ben Simmons buries a three in Sixers’ blowout exhibition win

The game went on as planned. And in the process, Ben Simmons sank his first career three-pointer.

The 76ers third-year point guard buried a 27-footer in Tuesday night’s 144-86 victory over the Guangzhou Loong-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

His attempt of a three-pointer was an uncertainty heading into Tuesday night’s game. But the moment came with the Lions leaving Simmons wide-open on the perimeter in the closing seconds of the first half.

The Wells Fargo Center crowd chanted for Simmons to shoot the ball as he dribbled near the Sixers’ bench.

“The time went down,” Simmons said. “I had the ball. So I had to take a shot.”

And even for a preseason game, it was the biggest shot of his career.

After taking a couple of steps, he buried the shot to put the Sixers up, 82-41, with 2.3 seconds left before intermission.

“We wanted him to shoot it, for sure,” said teammate Tobias Harris.

Then Harris made light of all the attention Simmons has gotten over his jump shot since the summer. People had been wondering if could hit a three-pointer in a game.

“He’s one of the best shooters to ever shoot the basketball,” Harris said. “So let it fly. He’s 100 percent. I don’t want to hear nothing.”

The crowd erupted in what was by far the highlight of the mismatch.


The shot was the culmination of all the hard work Simmons put in over the summer, which he spent working out with renowned trainer Chris Johnson in Los Angeles. Johnson, who still works with Simmons, has trained the likes of LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, and Harris, among other NBA talents.

Last season, opponents backed off Simmons when he had the ball on the perimeter. At times, they didn’t even guard him at all since he was hesitant to shoot. That put the Sixers at a huge disadvantage with him as the team’s primary ballhandler.

For his career, Simmons is 0-for-17 on three-pointers in the regular season. He had been 0-for-1 in the preseason for his career.

“I work every day,” he said of his shooting. “So to me, it like shows. I’m in the gym every day, putting in work. I feel like it’s paying off.”

Simmons has been making three-pointers in practice. His teammates have watched him “make rep after rep,” according to rookie Matisse Thybulle.

“I think that was really good to have everyone see the amount of work he has put in,” Thybulle said, “and watch it carry over to the big stage.”

But not all of the Sixers were able to do cartwheels over Simmons’ three-pointers.

Coach Brett Brown didn’t really have a reaction to the milestone.

But why?

“I think the whole thing is overblown,” he said of the attention given to Simmons’ shot. “In general, it is so inflated, the attention. ... He is young. We have a long season.

“I am just not going to react over it. He made a three.”

On Tuesday, the Australia native finished with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting -- including his lone three-point attempt – in three quarters of action. He also had eight rebounds, seven assists, one steal, a block and three turnovers.

Joel Embiid, who played just in the first half, had 17 points, including 9-for-9 from the foul line, and three rebounds. Josh Richardson scored 16 points and made 3-of-5 three-pointers.

Meanwhile, reserves Trey Burke and James Ennis had 11 points apiece. Thybulle, a rookie, added 10 points and game highs of three steals and two blocks off the bench.

The first half provided a glimpse of what the Sixers’ rotation might look like this season.

Thybulle and Ennis were the first two players off the bench. Burke was next to come in, followed by Mike Scott and Kyle O’Quinn. Those five reserves made up the White team (backups) in Saturday’s Blue and White scrimmage.

This matchup was still played after all of the discourse between the NBA and China, on the heels of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet Friday showing support for protesters in Hong Kong. The Chinese government was upset over the since-deleted tweet. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he and the league were “apologetic” to those who were upset over Morey’s comments. However, he would not apologize for the general manager exercising his right to freedom of expression.

As a result, China’s state broadcaster canceled plans to air this week’s NBA China games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets.

Tuesday night’s outcome was far from a surprise, considering the Lions suffered a blowout loss to former local college athletes Sunday at Temple.

Two fans seated about six rows behind the Lions’ bench displayed signs in protest. One of the signs read, “FREE HONG KONG.” The other sign read ‘FREE HK.’ One of the protesters wore a black T-shirt with white “FREE HONG KONG” lettering. The Lions did not open the locker room for media availability following the game.

I agree with Brown. The shit is blow out of porportion. However, if Simmons can consistantly shoot from the outside it makes this team that much more dangerous. :yes:

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Mt Airy Groove

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
I have high expectations for this team. Elton has done an excellent job putting the right pieces in place. Now it's up to Brent, Joel, and Ben. ECF or bust.
 

datboi

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
There are two moves I would like to make.
Trade Zhaire Smith for Malik Monk ( more fire power on the second and third units)
I know it’s not popular but I would sign Melo as long as understands his role is to back up Tobias and Horford there is plenty of playing time between 20-25 mins when Embiid goes out and Al slides to the five Melo would fill in at the four.
 

jack walsh13

Jack Walsh 13
BGOL Investor
There are two moves I would like to make.
Trade Zhaire Smith for Malik Monk ( more fire power on the second and third units)
I know it’s not popular but I would sign Melo as long as understands his role is to back up Tobias and Horford there is plenty of playing time between 20-25 mins when Embiid goes out and Al slides to the five Melo would fill in at the four.
Melody is trash sauce on D and signing him would take minutes away from Thybulle. Dude is a bulldog defensively.

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datboi

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
I Like the Thybulle pick a lot. He does the little things that may not always show up on the stat sheet. Wait until his body matures and he starts to take charges. If he was on another team I would hate him because he’s a pain in the ass defender always swatting and poking around the ball.
 

jack walsh13

Jack Walsh 13
BGOL Investor
I Like the Thybulle pick a lot. He does the little things that may not always show up on the stat sheet. Wait until his body matures and he starts to take charges. If he was on another team I would hate him because he’s a pain in the ass defender always swatting and poking around the ball.
Yup. Does a masterful job of baiting you into passes you think he cannot intercept.

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