Philadelphia Sixers Analysis
Joel Embiid Is Already Legend
Joel Embiid carries the weight of expectations differently than others. As his fanbase and national media have constructed stories that have him as the potential messiah in a decade-long process of experimental team-building, coupled with the unusual rabidity of Philadelphia sports fans, he has accepted this role sincerely. Read more »
Ten-Year NBA Net Rating Rankings (Infographics For All 30 Teams)
The Celtics finished in the top spot in Net Rating for the second straight season, while the Thunder jumped up from 28th to 14th to second. Read more »
Copying And Pasting Denver's Two-Man Game For Embiid And Maxey
Nick Nurse has pulled pages out of Denver's playbook, remaking Philadelphia's offense in the image of last year's champs. Like any sport, the NBA is a copycat league. Read more »
James Harden's Golden Handcuffs
When James Harden opted in, he trusted the only thing he knew for certain: His proven ability to get what he wants. Read more »
NBA's Top Wing Trios Ranked
We've ranked every team's wing corps from 1 to 30 based on the top three wings' production, upside and versatility. Read more »
Joel Embiid's Pyrrhic MVP
No one, save for maybe Karl Malone, has ever won MVP while also taking such a deep reputational hit. There's a whole lot that needs to happen in Philly for Embiid to embark on the Hero's Journey narrative that NBA fans are so unforgiving about seeing. Read more »
The NBA's Most Talented Also-Ran
James Harden's options are trying to win a title with the Sixers or semi-retirement back in Houston. It's assumed the former path will be roughly as consequential as the former. Read more »
Ten-Year NBA Net Rating Rankings (Infographics For All 30 Teams)
The Celtics finished first in Net Rating ahead of the Cavaliers, who jumped up from 13th last season and 28th as recently as 2021. Read more »
James Harden's Purgatory
James Harden is having a year that only seems underwhelming when compared to his past self. But what we are seeing is not exactly a lessening of ability as much as it is a shift in priorities. Read more »
The Harden-Embiid Rom-Com
Here's James Harden: the work-hard, play-hard perma-bachelor who traffics in such excess that he's never made room for the seemingly perfect partners. There's Joel Embiid, the hardened romantic who's learned to rely on only himself after a long-term relationship went sour. Read more »
The NBA MVP And The Eternal Rearranging Of Lists
With intelligence and perspective, we've dulled our pleasure centers and curbed our ability to produce meaning for ourselves. Read more »
The 2023 Title Contenders Are Already Here
To believe that any of 2023's neo-contenders can become bonafide champs over the next few months is to believe that a once-in-a-quarter-century occurrence is about to transpire. The reality is there are only four real contenders. Read more »
The Bucks, Sixers, And Their Quiet Thriving
Teams like the Bucks and Sixers have become boring to NBA fans who thirst for interpersonal conflict and player movement, but it won't be when the playoffs hit. Read more »
The Rockets Of Then Become The Sixers Of Now
In Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and De'Anthony Melton, the dashed dreams of the 2018 Rockets have found new foundation. Read more »
James Harden Can No Longer Build His Own World
James Harden has long been the cosmos itself; what will it look like for him to be just another individual residing in a world he cannot fully shape? Read more »
James Harden's Battle Between Experience And Decay
James Harden finally looked like a man whose experience has enriched him, rather than ran him ragged, and gave everyone with the fear of being too washed up something to model themselves after. Read more »
Ten-Year NBA Net Rating Rankings (Infographics For All 30 Teams)
The Suns jumped from 30th in the NBA in Net Rating in 17-18 to 29th to 18th in 19-20 to third last season and first in 21-22. Read more »
It Is Time For Ben Simmons To Become A Less Aggravating Version Of Himself
With Ben Simmons having gotten that trade he wanted, we can finally stop twisting ourselves in knots, stop calibrating what benevolent or rotten people we are by examining our role in the possibly fraudulent plight of a rich and famous athlete. Read more »
The Implausible Love Of Superstar, Executive
James Harden and Daryl Morey likely see themselves as mercenaries at this point. They only want to win a ring. It doesn't matter where or how, just so long as they get a solid share of the credit. Read more »
Can One Of The Most Deliberate Players In NBA History Adapt To His New Superstar Teammate?
Both James Harden and Joel Embiid are worlds unto themselves, players who not only dictate the end result of a game, but define the parameters in which it is played. Read more »