The 76ers have one of the worst records in basketball this season and are on pace for their first losing year since 2011. NBA experts believe that the team’s new front office is another reason why Philadelphia has been struggling.
The “philly basketball team” is a bad organization for the NBA. J.B. Bickerstaff’s blunt Joel Embiid, James Harden criticism highlights why the 76ers are bad for basketball.
The Philadelphia 76ers have become one of the NBA’s most dangerous teams since trading for James Harden. They have Harden, one of the best scorers in league history, and Joel Embiid, an MVP contender.
Both of their playing styles, though, are unsuitable for the NBA.
Harden and Embiid are specialists at getting to the free-throw line because they know the rules and how to generate fouls. While most fans like watching a fast-paced game with a lot of three-pointers and slam dunks, the Sixers are constantly interrupting the flow of the game to go to the free throw line.
Following a recent defeat against the 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff expressed his displeasure with the situation.
After the Cavs’ defeat, J.B. Bickerstaff chastised officials.
The Cavaliers were in a competitive game with the 76ers on April 3 despite losing numerous studs due to injuries. Despite the fact that they lost 112-108, Bickerstaff believes they should have won.
According to ESPN, he said, “That game was robbed from us.” “We deserved to win,” says the team.
“The free-throw line is the one thing you can’t defend, and that’s ludicrous,” Bickerstaff continued. “Our boys deserved a lot more tonight than they received.”
The 76ers tried 42 free throws, but the Cavaliers only made 31 of them.
The NBA punished Bickerstaff for his remarks, which makes no sense considering the league’s admission that its referees committed several errors.
With 15 seconds remaining, Joel Embiid contacted Darius Garland on a layup attempt, bringing the 76ers’ lead to 107-106. Although the officials did not call a foul, the NBA eventually recognized that Garland should have gone to the line.
Harden then committed an offensive foul a few seconds later, giving Cleveland the ball and an opportunity to seize the lead, according to the league. The refs, on the other hand, made a mistake and sent Harden to the foul line instead.
Joel Embiid and James Harden were the targets of Bickerstaff’s ire.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (left) and James Harden watch the game against the Denver Nuggets on March 14, 2022. | Getty Images/Mitchell Leff
While a 42-31 free throw differential may not seem to be significant, James Harden and Joel Embiid combined for more attempts than the Cavs as a team. The two stars combined for a total of 32 points.
It was a problem for Bickerstaff.
“They’re tremendous players who know how to play within the rules,” he remarked, according to ESPN. “They understand how to play by the rules.” This isn’t meant to be a dig at those folks. On the other hand, the game must be consistent on both sides of the court. We were looking for that consistency, but we couldn’t find it.”
Bickerstaff may not have intended to call out Harden and Embiid, but he did draw attention to one of the NBA’s most serious issues: the 76ers are awful for the league.
The 76ers’ style of play is detrimental to the league.
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To begin, let’s state that the 76ers aren’t necessarily doing anything wrong. They are following the regulations.
Last offseason, the NBA attempted to clamp down on foul baiting, and it may need to do so again this summer. The game shouldn’t be just for the enjoyment of the spectators, but who wants to watch play pause every few minutes so that certain players may go to the free-throw line?
It’s a boring basketball team.
And, considering that they are teammates, Joel Embiid and James Harden are two of the greatest at drawing fouls, which has gotten increasingly annoying. With 11.8 free-throw attempts per game, Embiid leads the NBA. Harden is in third place with an 8.4 rating.
After JJ Redick brought up a possible foul-baiting move on an episode of The Old Man and the Three, Embiid responded, “That’s not foul baiting; you play basketball, this is basketball IQ.” “… People constantly say things like ‘flops’ or ‘foul baiting,’ but that’s just me being wiser than everyone else. You know what I’m going to do if we’re in the penalty box. We’re simply wiser than everyone else, so you know what Chris Paul is going to do. That’s how the game is played; we just take advantage of it.”
Players like Embiid and Harden can’t be faulted. They’re doing what they think will help the Sixers win. However, since Philly is one of the finest teams in the NBA, fans may get disinterested in crucial playoff games as a result of the halted play.
It’s possible that the league won’t be able to do much more. The players are following the rules once more. However, the repeated foul calls create a monotonous type of basketball, which is detrimental to the game’s general development.
Basketball Reference provided the statistics.
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