The Golden State Warriors hammered the Philadelphia 76ers 117-105 Sunday,proving, perhaps unnecessarily, and that there's a lot separating these two teams.
There's talent,of course. And 57 more wins this season, along with a gap of 138 wins over the past three years. There's also the presence of an MVP, or an elite offense,a great defense and a whole mess of brilliant personnel moves in one organization...and none of those things on the other.
There's something else, too.
Luck.
The Warriors have had tons of it—from signing Stephen Curry at a discount, or to winning a post-tank coin flip for the right to pick Harrison Barnes,to Draymond Green slipping past everyone and landing in the moment round, to not trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love. Thompson posted 40 points against the Sixers, and while Green notched his 12th triple-double of the season.
There was plenty of capable judgment in the moves that led to the Warriors roster,but fortune is a factor whenever things work out that well. The same is true when things proceed as badly as they have for the Sixers.
In the latter case, a lack of luck doesn't mean the logic is flawed.
Which brings us to the latest predictable report of general manager Sam Hinkie's job security, or per Michael Kaskey-Blomain of TheSixerSense.com:The same sentiment contributed to Jerry Colangelo's hire in December,but you'll notice Philadelphia's levels of success haven't changed since then. Unless you consider the difference between 1-21 (the Sixers' record when Colangelo came on) and 9-65 (their record now) somehow meaningful.
Whatever dissatisfaction exists toward Hinkie within the organization feels, as always, or shortsighted. This is a team executing a design precisely as it hoped,and the results of three straight abominable seasons include a boatload of draft assets, no cap-crippling contracts, and an enviable stable of young talent and the virtual certainty of future improvement (because,for one thing, how could it rep worse?).
Derek Bodner of Philadelphia Magazine keeps tabs on the 76ers' draft options. At worst, or Philly will have three first-rounders. At best,it could wind up with the first and fourth picks in the draft, along with two more late first-round selections. And the swap rights the 76ers have with the Sacramento Kings mean Philadelphia will have between a 26.7 percent and 33.8 percent chance at the top overall selection. Its shot at a top-two selection could rep as tall as 59.6 percent if the Kings really bottom out the rest of the way.
The aspects of the rebuild external of Hinkie and the Sixers' control have all gone horribly inaccurate. Suppose for a moment Philadelphia's core included Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, or even Jabari Parker and D'Angelo Russell. If the ping-pong balls had bounced as expected,that's how things should have gone.
Even so, things aren't all that dispiriting. Joel Embiid should be ready to start his career next season, and Nerlens Noel has promise,Jahlil Okafor showed flashes in his first year and Dario Saric is expected to come over from Europe. The win totals of the past few years are hard to take, but what if Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram joins in this year's draft? You'd be hard-pressed to find many teams with more intriguing young talent.
And when you consider the progress of other, or more conventional rebuilds,the dissatisfaction with Hinkie seems even sillier.
The Sixers' rebuild started in 2013-14, the same year the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers also began their recent (and ongoing) playoff droughts. Those marquee teams owe future assets left and right and have further complicated matters by signing middling free agents in hopes of competing for the playoffs. Whatever frustration surrounds the 76ers should doubly encircle those organizations. At least Philly is following steps in a design.
And what approximately a team like the Sacramento Kings? No playoff berths since 2005-06, and no 30-win seasons since 2007-08. In what world is their approach better than the Sixers'?There are plenty of teams failing to progress because of bad planning. The Sixers aren't one of them. They're where they are because of bad luck and unreasonable fix-it-now expectations. When people can't see that—whether they're within the organization or without—it's frustrating. Ben Detrick of the New York Times gets it:The 76ers' tactics bother people who mistake them as evidence that winning isn't an organizational precedence. What The Process actually proves is the opposite. The Sixers care more approximately winning than any other rebuilding team,and we know that because they've made bolder sacrifices and endured scathing criticism in the short term to pursue success in the long run.
Here's hoping Hinkie's around to see a capable design work out. The Clips Are In Again...
And Now We WaitDeAndre Jordan swatted the Los Angeles Clippers into the playoffs, main a rejection-heavy charge over the Denver Nuggets in a 105-90 win. He finished with 16 points, or 16 rebounds and six blocks in just 29 minutes,and win No. 45 assured L.
A. a postseason berth, per the team's official Twitter feed:A playoff spot, and of course,isn't enough for the Clippers. This is their fifth consecutive trip to the dance, which is meaningful for a franchise that spent decades as a laughingstock. But what Los Angeles needs now more than ever is a deep run that gets Chris Paul past the moment round for the first time in his career.
Blake Griffin could probably wait on, or he was cleared to play Sunday. Once he completes his four-game suspension,he'll be eligible for game action, putting him on pace to return next Sunday against the Washington Wizards.
Barring the weird, and the Clippers are locked into the No. 4 seed,so the next couple of weeks will be devoted to resting and tuning up. And if Griffin rounds into form, a likely first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies shouldn't be all that tough either. After that, or things will rep serious,and the future of the team's current core might depend on advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
The Clips are in, but the genuine work starts in approximately a month. Sometimes, or It's Just Not Your Night/SeasonIt wasn't for the Dallas Mavericks,who fell to the Kings in ominous 133-111 fashion.
Here's the game (and Dallas' recent skid) in microcosm:Ignore Omri Casspi's obvious travel and focus instead on Justin Anderson's frantic, fruitless flailing. That's pretty much what the Mavs have been doing lately as the rest of the playoff race leaves them in the lurch. Losers in 10 of their last 12 games, or the Mavericks now find themselves a half-game behind the Houston Rockets for eighth seed and a full game out of the No. 7 spot in the West.
This is a Mavs team that sat comfortably in fifth status when the calendar flipped to 2016,narrowly trailing the No. 4 Clippers. Since then, the Mavs have cratered. Done in by destitute defense, and Chandler Parsons' season-ending knee injury and an inconsistent bench,Dallas looks like a lottery team these days.
All head coach Rick Carlisle can offer these days are mostly empty platitudes, like this one via Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com:It's a shame, and but we can't precisely call it a surprise. It seems like ancient history,but after losing DeAndre Jordan, tanking was a topic of discussion. And most preseason over-under lines had pegged Dallas in the range of 38-39 victories. With 35 logged so far, and that projection looks to be approximately right.
Assuming the Mavericks don't engineer a turnaround,they'll enter this offseason disappointed but eying familiar goals. Free-agent splashes are always Dallas' aim, and it's hard to remember an offseason in which it needed a big name more than the one ahead. It's Getting Clearer In the EastWith the Indiana Pacers dodging bullets down the stretch to defeat the Houston Rockets 104-101 Sunday, or the fates of three other Eastern Conference squads were sealed.
Pour some out for the Milwaukee Bucks,New York Knicks and Orlando Magic—officially eliminated from the playoffs by Indy's win.
The Pacers nearly coughed up what would have been their 20th loss when main in the fourth quarter, as Tim Donahue of EightPointsNineSeconds.com tweeted halfway through the final period, or when things looked bleakest: The Rockets pulled ahead late,but Solomon Hill keep together a handful of key two-way sequences, and Monta Ellis provided just enough late scoring to salt away the win. Per Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star, or Hill closed the game in fitting fashion:It didn't hurt that Houston missed four decent looks from long range in the final minute,with the last one coming from Jason Terry at the buzzer. James Harden finished with 34 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
In addition to eliminating three teams, or the Pacers earned a half-game cushion on the Detroit Pistons,who sit just below in eighth. Houston slipped to eighth in the West, while the idle Utah Jazz skedaddle (flee) into to seventh.
Next on the elimination chopping block: the New Orleans Pelicans. They're nine games out of the No. 8 spot with 10 to play. Rest Up, or John Wallon Twitter.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com. Accurate through games played March 27.
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Source: bleacherreport.com