Tag Archives: Philadelphia 76ers

NBA Basketball

What If the Philadelphia 76ers Won the 2018 NBA Championship

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By: Opinionated MJ (Michael Tolliver)

Why not?

This would quickly accelerate Ben Simmons to a conversation with the great Magic Johnson. It would turn the attention from LeBron, KD, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kyrie, and anyone else you want to throw in there as elite. It could also make Embiid just as important as Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq, and a few others. This would put the league on it’s head really fast and also change the dynamic when it comes to how Championships are won and how teams are rebuilt. This would even make Danny Ainge look like he’s a step back when it comes to reloading his Celtics after the Big 3 era.

Imagine the collective shock that this would bring upon the NBA world. LeBron would no longer be able to consider Philly as an option in the off-season or he’ll look like Kevin Durant, minus losing to the team 3-1, unless this actually happened. He’d become a ring chaser. This would also remind the rest of the league and the fans that the big man is very important to the dynamic of building a team. A skilled big man but still a big man nonetheless. We could see Ben Simmons have immediate success although media has been fairly quiet when it comes to Simmons, Embiid, and the Sixers. This would put Philly back on the map as a sports town as well since the Eagles beat the Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl. What could be better than the Sixers beating the Warriors? Let’s say, victory in 5 games? That is a reach but we have to acknowledge that nothing is set in stone here. Any team can have a bad injury, a bad shooting spell, or simply have a macthup problem with a certain team or teams.

The Sixers are full of everything you need to be successful: shooting, defense, post play, playmaking, transition O, transition D, rim protection… I can’t think of a weakness. They have vets, although their vets haven’t been to a championship, they are still vets. They have a very good blend. Right now, their core looks to be very durable, even Embiid is playing more and more. I personally wouldn’t sleep on this team at all. Who’s to say that Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid aren’t mature enough to lock in when the playoffs start and play at a higher level than we currently see now? Lets say that they also elevate the overall team play because of this, who can’t they beat? I know everyone wants to say inexperience, but this is what everyone said about the Warriors that beat the Cavs, although minus Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, but this could very well be the next team to make a splash that would be entirely unexpected. Nothing is worse than looking down on your competition, thinking that they wouldn’t be able to beat you over the course of 7 games. Then all of a sudden, they do.

What team in the East is actually a sure LOCK to end up in the finals anyway? If the Heat make the post-season, can they beat the Cavs? Can the Sixers? Celtics? Raptors? Bucks? I actually couldn’t definitively answer this question like I could during the past 4 seasons. I think that there may be a new team to rise. I wouldn’t mind it being the Raptors or Celtics, but I think the team much more equipped to make it and succeed are the Philadelphia 76ers. Don’t sleep. Go Sixers!

NBA Basketball, Podcasts

MoneYBaLL Episode 6 NBA Podcast

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Episode 6 with Opinionated MJ & NilClassic

 

 

LeBron, Kyrie, Celtics and more!

Enjoy the podcast!

 

 

 

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NBA Basketball

This Is All On Kevin Durant

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By: Opinionated MJ

 

Hey Kevin, it’s your time to put up or shut up!

The Warriors are currently seeing a growing lead in the first quarter against the Spurs, game 4. Klay Thompson is the only player who is experiencing some inconsistency but maybe the incoming rest will help him adjust to the physical nature and intensity that the Cavaliers will bring once they stop messing around with the Celtics. Adam Silver must’ve told them to chill and let the Celts get a game. Steph Curry has been taking the ball to the hole and he’s been having good looks from midrange than usual. He’s moving his feet well on the defensive end as well, although, he still endured some shaky foul calls in Game 3. Reminded me of the 2016 NBA Finals. I won’t forget Iman Shumpert running into him and the refs calling a foul on Steph who was already stationary in his position on the floor. Bets must have been placed, eh?

 

Steve Kerr is out and everyone is concerned about the progression of his health. He’s been traveling with the team and I’m sure that behind the scenes he’s doing what he must to keep this team rolling so they can win another championship. I didn’t mention that Draymond Green is looking like the greatest glue guy every assembled and placed on an NBA roster. Potential Defensive Player of the Year. He has my vote with Kawhi as a close second if I incorporate the playoffs into my vote. If I didn’t, then he’d be a distant second. I currently think highly of Kawhi right now. He’s not here to put a stop to any of this madness. LeBron is up next, so this leads me to what I really want to touch on. The finals will be about two men: LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

 

Can Durant elevate his game to another level? Will he be able to attain the eye of the tiger? I’m sure LeBron will matchup with Kevin, and this is where he will be depended upon to still perform and put up his usual stats and more. I have very high expectations of him if the Warriors want to have any chance to beat the Cavs. That’s the reason he came on board, right? To be able to get back at LeBron. What better way to win your first championship than to do it over LeBron? His own fans call him the Greatest of All Time. There’s no better way to win a ring than to add a win over LeBron onto your resume. Regardless of who you’re teamed with. They said LeBron would be better than Jordan if he beat this jump shooting Warriors team. Let’s not mention the league caters to an up-tempo game with much less physical play and he’s 6’9 250-260. Football! Elevate your game Kevin!

 

LeBron is bringing his well-oiled Cleveland Cavs machine to the war and he’s looking to repeat. Can you stop him on his way to creating a dynasty? Can you etch your name above those who should’ve won a championship but they seen the great Michael Jordan? Can you get that elusive ring that Barkley, Miller, Malone & Stockton, Payton & Kemp, Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, and many others don’t have? Should we add Carmelo Anthony to that bunch right now? Can you be the difference maker in this series? Can you take over the game when you need to and not be a spectator to the Steph Curry show? Will you be what this team was missing last year when they gave up a 3-1 lead? Ironically, the same lead you forfeited to the same team you now are a part of. Are you here just to get Golden State to the promised land and shockingly sabotage their plans and laugh in their faces when you go back to Russell Westbrook and OKC with all their plays, knowledge, and execution plans as you disappear in the Finals on purpose? That’s a conspiracy but I wouldn’t put it past you until you prove me wrong. This year it’s all about you, Kevin Durant. It’s time to put up or shut up. Period. Barring injuries or deficiency in team health, you have no excuses. Deliver!

NBA Basketball

WHY THE MARRIAGE OF KD AND THE WARRIORS WILL BE GREAT FOR THE NBA

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​By: Opinionated Reezy


Let’s take a walk back in time for a moment.  Forget how the team is assembled and think about what comes to mind when you hear names Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, and Karem Abdul-Jabar.  I will ask you again to forget how the team is assembled and think about what comes to mind when you hear the names Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Robert Parrish, and Kevin McHale.  These were the Showtime Lakers and Dominate Celtics teams from the 80’s that dominated the decade and ultimately suffered from old age.  These two teams were dynasty’s both in their depth and starting rosters and would be considered super teams in today’s NBA.

I can’t remember much about that era, but I imagine that people were shocked when either the Lakers and/or the Celtics were not in the finals.  History would show the following (The champion is bold):

·         1979 – 80 Season: Lakers v 76ers

·         1980 – 81 Season: Celtics v Rockets

·         1981 – 82 Season: Lakers v 76ers

·         1982 – 83 Season: 76ers v Lakers

·         1983 – 84 Season: Celtics v Lakers

·         1984 – 85 Season: Lakers v Celtics

·         1985 – 86 Season: Celtics v Rockets

·         1986 – 87 Season: Lakers v Celtics

·         1987 – 88 Season: Lakers v Pistons

·         1988 – 89 Season: Pistons v Lakers

·         1989 – 90 Season: Pistons v Trailblazers

We literally had to go a full decade before we had an NBA Finals that did not feature the Celtics or the Lakers and that forced teams to get better.  It made players think strategically about how they were going to win.  No one was tired of the NBA, in fact being from Detroit, it became a unified front to watch your team develop into a legitimate threat and watch that team rise to greatness.

ALL THAT BEING SAID.  I see it happening again!  Let’s wind back the clock a few years:

·         2010 – 11 Season: Mavericks v Heat

·         2011 – 12 Season: Heat v Thunder

·         2012 – 13 Season: Heat v Spurs

·         2013 – 14 Season: Spurs v Heat

·         2014 – 15 Season: Warriors v Cavaliers

·         2015 – 16 Season: Cavaliers v Warriors

LeBron is the common element in this scenario in that for the past six seasons, LeBron led teams have been in the Finals.  Now a consistent team in the West has a legitimate chance to be consistent.  The last two seasons alone have been exciting for all the plotlines interwoven in the season.  I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT THE NBA IS SCRIPTED; however, the story is one of note.  The rise of Golden State in the West, the Apology tour of LeBron James coming home and taking a team destined for the lottery to the FInals twice and Championship once.  Many were already anticipating the Trilogy reminiscent of Lakers and Celtics of old and then KD throws his name in the hat and now all we can say is.. IT’S ON!! 

This season may be dull for a moment, that will pass once Golden State faces their first real loss.  You see it now and LeBron sees it with the fevered insistence on bringing the band back together.  The pleas to sign JR is a message that we are going back to the days where teams determined success and not just one or two players.  Owners can no longer gamble on the notion of a star player and a bunch of role players.  Left unchecked, Golden State has the chance to win multiple championships and other teams will be forced to used their resources wisely to counter that.

KD didn’t hurt the league, he probably singlehandedly saved it…