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ORLANDO, Florida – The Philadelphia 76ers' course, from national embarrassment to respectable frankness, was anything but conventional. Therefore, their first trip with Jimmy Butler had to follow.
Butler was mostly passive when he began to acclimate with new teammates, a new system and, presumably, a break with the drama that followed him since he launched his request to exchange with Minnesota Timberwolves two months ago.
In an appropriate scenario, the 76ers allocating a 21-0 fourth-quarter defeat to Orlando Magic in their 111-106 loss to Amway Center probably felt normal at some point because the focus was at least on about basketball and how Butler help a team that struggled late in the game to move on to the next stage.
He saw with his own eyes where he needed his control, and if he went into practice shouting, "You need me!", As he did with Minnesota, no one would have the opportunity to oppose it.
Jimmy Butler kept calm in his debut with the 76ers. (AP)
Butler played the game in his 33 minutes, taking just two shots in the fourth quarter and the last being out of reach. He preferred to give way to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, who still learn on the fly, and in the case of Simmons, he adapts to the league to make up for his allergies outside of painting.
When the situation returns to normal, it is at that point that Butler is supposed to enter.
"He's coming in and he's trying to make the right choice," said 76ers coach Brett Brown. "He's trying to understand everyone. They try to understand it and it will take time. "
This bold decision calls for a quick adjustment, but it is expected that the situation will become critical in the interim – and it seems that Butler is content to play long, rather than intervene and take over, which is the best time for him.
"I shot the ball when I was open," Butler said. "I passed that to the open guy when they were open, I played to the best of my abilities."
With Butler, the 76ers became the most intriguing team in the Eastern Conference almost overnight, and although it is possible to become the final representative of the NBA, it is unclear which road this team can borrow to achieve it.
"In some ways, the loss will bring huge benefits," said Brown. "You do not just snap your heels and win parts of the NBA."
But does CEO Elton Brand not expect this kind of situation by aggressively attacking a star in the beginning of his career? The fast forward button was pressed late Friday night, when the transaction was nearly consumed.
Brown should know better than anyone that these changes have a life of their own, and even if the beginnings unfolded as they all hoped, hard times would come.
We could call it a process.
There were lightning, moments in which we could see the trio of stars get rich at the end of the game. At one point in the fourth quarter, Butler started the defense on a pick-n-roll with Embiid, before bringing it back to the tall man who was heading to the basket before finding two defenders on his way. Meanwhile, Simmons was entering the weak side with a break while Embiid found him for an undisputed dunk.
Other moments were expected jerky as the Magic tried his luck, Terrence Ross scoring triples late to conclude the debates.
But even if the 76ers grow up, it will be necessary to answer questions. Butler is by far the most accomplished player in the lineup, but the farthest game in the playoffs was the sixth game of the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2015, when the Bulls escaped before to fall in the hands of the LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers.
J.J. Redick was a reserve of the Orlando Magic team that went to the finals in 2009 and played the lead role in some promising but underperforming teams with the Clippers.
The rest of the list has not yet experienced the playoffs of last year. Simmons is in his second year of professional basketball practice. Markelle Fultz is working on his own problems, and it is impossible to predict what he will transform afterwards.
Wednesday night proved that certain certainties are on the way. But suffering is inevitable and growth is not a guarantee.
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