05-12-2023, 07:26 AM
(05-12-2023, 07:15 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: That game was there for Philly last night. Huge credit to Tatum though. He made championship winning plays after a rough shooting night and put the game away. I know who I am going to bet (I don't bet) in game 7. As good as Embid and Harden has been, no one will remember anything if they don't show in game 7. I may be wrong, but last night might have been Philly's chance. I would really love to see Hardy have a similar career developmental path as Maxey.
I didn't watch the PHX and Denver game but it appears I did not miss much. With PHX out now, we have Dallas, PHX and LAC (Minnesota?) as desperate but talented teams this offseason. Maybe we can argue if Dallas is talented, but they do have an elite player. It is going to be real interesting because these teams are feeling the pressure. Different type of pressure, but pressure nonetheless.
Tatum was absolutely going to be the goat (not the good kind) that ended their season if those shots didn't go in. He was already 1 of 14. Those first two threes changed everything.
It has to be maddening for Phoenix fans. Two years in a row blown out on their own floor to end their season. I think your desperate but talented description is pretty apt. But with play-ins, no VW in next year's draft and teams having to start the season at the minimum salary, it is going to be tougher to rob good players off of bad teams. Seems to me the path is to either over-pay (outgoing talent/assets), pay the market rate for an overpaid guy (example: Ayton) or take financial risks that a player's current team doesn't want to take (Claxton?). Oh, and the free agent class is garbage.