FanPost

Dont Trust The Process, Enjoy It....

I had a great time watching last night's game. But when I come to Liberty Ballers, all I read about is angst and consternation. This was my respite from the ignorati on Philly.com and other blogs. It was my escape from Negadelphia.

However, it's getting darker in here. No discussion of how good Covington's defense is becoing or the fact that Brett Brown recognized his improved ballhandling and allowed him to play shooting guard last night.

No mention of how my least favorite Sixer, Isaiah Canaan, started and actually had a good game. He actually scored in the paint on more than one occasion. Once, through traffic and finishing with his left-hand.

Even Stauskas tried to dunk in traffic!

Check Jerami Grant's turnovers. He commits very few. That's amazing, considering how gangly and uncoordinated he was when he drafted him less than 16months ago. He hit thre three pointers last night. How is that not cause for a little celebration?

I understand weariness, I don't understand concern.

I get how losing three straight years and breaking records of futility have upset some fans. Some folks want to watch the Sixers play good basketball while we rebuild.

The problem is, we've known ever since the Jrue Holiday trade that the idea is to shoot for the worst record in the league and get a franchise player, with the secondary outcome being that we amass a squad full of top five talents.

Lest we forget, we didn't have the worst record in the league last year, or the year before. We failed to execute, as the true charlatan of Philadelphia Chip Kelly would say. We didn't get Andrew Wiggins or Karl Anthony Towns.

So apparently, fans somehow have come to feel as though its time to capitulate. On one hand they say "I trust the process", then turn around and say "we shouldnt be this bad". Huh?

We absolutely should be this bad. If nothing else, we have to out lose the Lakers! For all the angst we're experiencing for purposely putting out a squad with no legitimate NBA point guard, the Lakers are two games ahead of us after 1) spending money on veteran free agents Lou Williams, Roy Hibbert, 2) signing mentors like Metta World Peace to help rookies like Julius Randdle, and 3) drafting Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell, the two players wanted by the "fit" crowd and the "dont take Embiid, take a lesser, healthy player" crowd. Two games.

If we allow the Lakers to outlose us, its a double whammy. We have a lesser chance at Ben Simmons, while increasing the likelihood we don't get their pick this year. After the process was delayed slightly by not getting OKC and MIA and LA's pick last year, I would've thought folks would embrace beating the Lakers to the bottom. But I was wrong.

I was also wrong thinking that fans would enjoy this last season of wretchedness once they got a glimpse of Ben Simmons. In the last couple mast head commentaries about the process, there was very little excitement in them about the prospect of getting a talent better than Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns.

I stand by my comparison of Ben Simmons to Magic Johnson. If anything, I'm doubling down. This kid is bad-ass.

I also stand by belief that Brett Brown, the coach of the Australian National Team and chief recruiter for the "Junior Boomers", on which Ben Simmons has been a member for some years, has been excited about the prospect of getting Simmons since he was hired as the Sixers coach. Brown coached David Simmmons, Ben's father, when they were both with the Melbourne Tigers.

I also stand by my belief that this draft is about more than Ben Simmons, that it is weak in big men, but extremely strong in guards. Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn, Isaiah Briscoe, Jalen Brunson, Denzel Valentine, Grayson Allen... Perfect for us, no?

"At some point, we have to...." Well, no shit. The rebuild can't go on forever. And it won't. We know we have three legitimate NBA frontcourtsmen in Okafor, Noel and Covington. We have the likelihood of Joel Embiid next year and the possiiblity of Dario Saric coming over, and three or four first round picks in a guard heavy draft. Even if we don't sign a free agent this upcoming summer, how can people not see that next year will not just be better, but vastly so!

Another reason not to fret is Jamal Murray.

If Simmons is the next Magic Johnson, then Jamal Murray is the next Steve Nash. He has the ballhandling of a point guard, and the shooting stroke of a two. Excellent size at 6'5, and a fine athlete in terms of speed and hops. I can easily say he's a better, more complete prospect than either D'Angelo Russell or Emannuel Mudiay.

The dream is to get Ben Simmons and Jamal Murray. Making that happen requires us to outlose the Lakers and get both the #1 pick and theirs at #4.

If you watched last night's game against the Houston Rockets, you saw again that when it comes down to crunch time, our substandard guards cannot institute an offense, nor create a shot on their own. This is intentional. No matter how good our big men play, no matter how much they develop, we'll vie for the #1 pick so long as we are running McConnell and Canaan out there.

And it won''t get all that much better when Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall arrive. Wroten has a lot of developing to do himself before he can be a major factor towards wins. He was our floor general during last years 0-17 start--althought, to be fair, he was playing ball with Chris Johnson, Henry Sims, Brandon Davies and Malcolm Thomas'.

Wroten is not a consistent defender, which is also why we are currently winless. Kendall Marshall has always been a traffic cone. One of the worst defenders the NBA has seen, there''s a reason he''s bounced from team to team despite his passing prowess. He's Ish Smmith all over again. We'll look much better on offense, but Noel and Okafor will foul out of games having to cover their man and his at the same time.

Folks pine for Canaan and Stauskas even though theyre among the worst defenders because they think having shooters will help Okafor to look good on offense. But that totally ignores how bad he looks on defense because they can't stay in front of their man. Okafor has shown already that he is a more than capable one on one post defender. His problem is covering McConnell's man and his own. You'd like him to be better at pick and roll defense. But we also ignore that a great defensive point guard like Providence's Kris Dunn protects Okafor as much on defense as shooter do on offense.

Even if you'e the pessimmistic sort who believes the Sixers are somehow cursed or that the league offices will conspire against us getting the #1 pick, how can you not be excited about adding, say, Kris Dunn at the point and Jamal Murray at shooting guard?????

Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel and Joel Okafor. That's a serious foundation even if Dario never comes over (which he will) and if Embiid never plays (which he will) and if we never sign or trade for a free agent (which we will) and if we never have another draft pick (which we have in spades).

I don''t trust the process, I love it. Blowing up what we had was the right thing to do three years ago. Going all out for Ben Simmns is the right thing to do now. And the seeds of our frustration are close to blooming.

No woman, no cry....Cuz everything's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be alright, child. Everything's gonna be alright. So woman, no cry!

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