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Philadelphia is an unstable city. In general, but especially in the Sixers. The last thing that happened was what local fans and media obsessed, until it happened at that time, an obsession for them and forgetting the first thing to happen. make. It's the tradition.
After the Sixers were 2-1 in their second-round series against the Raptors, the general consensus was that they were a very good basketball team and would obviously participate in the Finals – and not just the version of the Eastern Conference. It was a week ago. Then the Sixers lost twice in a row, including a disastrous disaster of a game 5 in Toronto, and the general consensus was that the Sixers were super bad at basketball and should probably dissolve in the interest of civic health. Everything had me and Alarm Michael Baumann, Philly's colleague and colleague, wonders if we should eliminate any disappointment caused by beer or bleach. We were not alone. Head Coach Brett Brown was so exasperated by the last game in Toronto that he instantly became a meme.
However, the mood tends to change quite quickly, sometimes the same day. The collective conversation about Ben Simmons is a good example. Everyone was at match 6 in Philly Thursday, and rightly so. But aside from the main coach – who is still a target – it seemed like Simmons absorbed more shots than anyone else. It could have been deserved. He did not play well at the beginning of the series and his dominant leader role was replaced by one person. Brown stated that he was deploying periodically as a spacer to "try to free the shooters on the perimeter". more frankly, as an offensive lure. Not surprisingly, Simmons' act of disappearing was not very positive for the local population.
Thursday was a particularly angry day on sports radio broadcasts, even by Philly standards. Many beginners phoned to say that the Sixers just had to unload Simmons spare parts and finish with that. He had a lot of trouble shooting, and a 94WIP correspondent hit him under the belt with a vicious "he's not Philly". Of all the insults of the province, it is considered the most devastating. Then he said that the Sixers should exchange Simmons and Brown to the Lakers for LeBron. I'm not sure about equalizing wages, but I'm angry. Angry Philly is a Philly I understand; but I also understand Philly's tendency to immediately reverse the course of a given position. These things are closely related.
So it was normal that the guy that so many people wanted to dump the morning was the same guy who received some of the loudest cheers later on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Simmons had 21 points (out of 9 out of 13), eight rebounds, six assists and, critically, no turnovers – by far his best game in the series to help the Sixers host the seventh game in Toronto on Sunday. Simmons had more points in the first quarter of the sixth match than in the last four combined quarters of the previous match. a beautiful pass without a look it's hot and bothering everyone. When he crossed the finish line in the third quarter – a place where he was not always comfortable – the crowd applauded. It was not even the sarcastic variety that the city perfected. It was the authentic kind of "rah-rah". Constant support is not exactly what the natives are known, but they went wild several times in the game, especially when he threw a plunge at a breach of Joel Embiid at some point in the proceedings. the Raptors might have a chance to get back to things.
"He's 22," Brown said of Simmons after the sixth game. "His playing as he moves forward in his game and he tries to better control his position and deals with the playoff phase of the NBA. he's going to be there all day, every day, he's here and he's going to drop it from the park, it's not fair. "
Fair is not always Philly's strong point. Like some Notable Philadelphians highlighted on Twitter, the city has an ever-changing relationship with Simmons. The same could be said of the attitude of the entire team. Opinions are constantly oscillating. They have the best start five east of Oakland; their starting five is too expensive and unproductive. Embiid is unstoppable; Embiid is Mr. Glass. Brown should be fired; bring back Brown. The Tobias Harris trade was exactly what they needed; they paid too much for Tobias. Let Jimmy Butler walk; gives maximum to Jimmy
Butler, like Simmons, tends to be loved for a moment, hated the next day, with no intermediary and depending on what's fresh in people's heads. On Thursday, the Sixers received Jimmy's version – do not call it James – Butler, which everyone searches here. He had 25 points and just as important eight assists. He also chose Kawhi Leonard's pocket just before the half and turned it into two easy points. In a game where Embiid still did not seem to be quite right or quite himself – what I understand is an absurd thing to write when he was more-40"Butler has again taken on Brown's role with affection and often speaks of an adult in the room. The coach dodged a late question after the match. It concerned Butler's placement in play and the type of contract he could order – if Rajon Rondo is to believe, a person other than the Sixers will pay Butler this off season – but Butler credited with having played well enough to keep the series and the season alive when it looked like they were almost buried.
It's a strange series like this. As Raptors coach Nick Nurse said, and I paraphrase, the two teams have been alternately good and terrible at different times. After the game, I asked Simmons about it, about the overwhelming ups and downs he and the Sixers had against the Raptors. I wanted to know why he thought that was the case. Simmons' answer basically boiled down to "it's the NBA". Butler was asked about the same thing and suggested "it's a racing game". These are reflexive snapshots, but I understand why they had a hard time finding an answer to this question. . There is no easy answer.
"No boos," Butler said at the post – game press conference. Then he and Embiid, sitting right next to him, correct the disc.
"Ah, they booed us a bit, huh?" Butler asked.
"They did it," said Embiid. "They made us boo."
"We appreciate it," Butler said. Everyone in the room shared a laugh with them.
It is hard to blame anyone for not knowing whether to encourage the Sixers from one moment to the next. After 82 regular-season games, five playoff games in the first round against the Nets and six other second-round games (and more) against the Raptors, I do not know what to do either. It's either a very good team that should be maintained at all costs right now, a second season for the second season in a row. Maybe both. Your hypothesis is as good as mine or someone else's, and that's all we would do: guess. After all this, we still need one more game to understand it. At least.
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