~June 7, 2019~
A couple weeks after the 2018/2019 NFL season had ended, I was sitting and talking football with two of my roommates. The one is a bandwagon Patriots fan (lol) and the other is a diehard Redskins fan (also lol). We talked about a lot of different topics, we talked about the lackluster Super Bowl we had just witnessed, we talked about incoming rookies, and made a few predictions for the next season. While we were all making said predictions, I made the statement that I felt Carson Wentz was going to win the 2019 MVP. Both of my roommates kind’ve laughed and scoffed at me, throwing out the typical, “iNjUrIeS” comments. However, I stood my ground, making it very clear that I genuinely believed he would in fact secure the title of “Most Valuable Player”. The Patriots fan wasn’t buying it, saying that if I was sooo confident to put some money on it. I gladly accepted, shaking his hand to confirm a 20$ bet on Carson Wentz winning the MVP award.
So why am I so confident in Carson Wentz? He’s a quarterback who hasn’t even finished the last two seasons, a quarterback who had an entire article written on him about how he’s a “locker room cancer”, and he’s a quarterback in a league with stat-stuffing shot-callers like Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees and Tom Brady. The obvious answer to this question is simply that I am a biased Eagles fan who overrates Carson because he’s my favorite player. However, I challenge you to give me chance to plead my case. Whether you’re “Team Wentz” or “Anti-Wentz”, I truly believe that after you read my argument below, that you too will feel confident in a 2019 MVP season for #11, and seeing as Carson just signed a huge new extension, now seems like the perfect time to talk about it.
Carson’s 2017 Season
I’d like to open this discussion by looking back on Wentz’s dominant 2017. Now I am sure you all are very familiar with the 2017/2018 NFL season, seeing as it’s the year the Philadelphia Eagles were crowned Super Bowl Champions. However, I’d like to revisit it (excluding any mention of a guy named Nick Foles for a second), and focus solely on what Wentz did that year.
Coming into 2017 Wentz had just completed his rookie season. Although by no means a historic year, Carson showed a ton of promise. While working with a relatively below average roster, Wentz showed the fans and the Eagles coaching staff that there was a ton to be excited about. The Eagles were busy in the offseason following Wentz’s rookie year, adding in top talent like Chris Long, LeGarrette Blount, Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. Throw in some offensive line help in Chance Warmack, and the Eagles were primed to contend for the NFC East.
And contend they did, mainly on the back of Mr. Carson Wentz himself. Before his ACL injury cut his season short, Wentz was insanely dominant. In the 13 games he played, the Eagles were 11-2 and Wentz threw for 3296 yards, 33 TDs and just 7 interceptions (60.2% completion rate and a 101.9 passer rating). I don’t think anyone would argue with the concept that he was the league’s MVP before the injury, he easily would've beat out Brady for the award had he finished the season.
I put a ton of value into this season when I consider what Carson’s future will look like. Not only was Wentz 100% healthy, but he also had solid pieces around him. Alshon was healthy, Torrey Smith was a competent deep threat, the run game was a 3-headed monster of Blount, Ajayi and Clement, and also the defense was playing at an above average level. Similar to how the New England Patriots and Tom Brady operate, surround the QB with solid pieces and he will do the rest.
Carson’s 2018 Season
Now we arrive to the ever controversial 2018 season. We all know how 2017 ended up, Wentz tears his ACL in a freak play Week 13 and Nick Foles goes on to lead the team to Super Bowl glory. Coming into 2018 the drama was at an all time high. In typical Philly sports fashion every “analyst” and reporter was pushing the agenda that Foles was now superior to Wentz. After 2018 ended once again in a Wentz injury and a Foles fairytale run to the playoffs, most fans/analysts seemingly wrote this year off as a “bad” one for Wentz. I am here to refute that.
Despite still obviously dealing with a rehabbing knee, a back fracture, a decimated defense to back him up, zero run game AND a beaten up offensive line, Carson Wentz actually got BETTER as a pure passer. Now how the heck can I make such a bold statement, no way was he better in 2018 than 2017! Right??
Wentz and the Eagles were definitely better in 2017, no doubt about it. 11-2 compared to 5-6 (record when Wentz started) tells the story. However, there were very real signs of Carson developing as a pure passer. In 2018 Carson raised his completion percentage from 60.2 to 69.6 and his passer rating from 101.9 to 102.2. Specifically when looking at the completion percentage, that is a significant increase. Wentz was far more accurate in the 2018 season, actually ranking third in the entire league in that category. He also ranked 8th in the league in int%, 7th in the league in passer rating and even had a better TD% than guys like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson and Dak Prescott.
So why do all these stats even matter? 3074 yards, 21 TDs and 7 INTs in 11 games isn’t nothing to necessarily write home about, but my point here is that Carson wasn’t “bad” in 2018. Not only did he still put up above average numbers, but he himself actually got better in some regards. Given the circumstances of the season, this was a very good season for any other quarterback. Hell, people give Aaron Rodgers a pass almost every single season because of “injuries” or “his bad defense”. Carson deserves that same treatment, this was a below average version of Wentz while batting through a knee injury and yet was still one of the best in the league. Most quarterbacks can’t even be this effective when healthy.
So Why 2019?
There’s a few reasons why I believe 2019 will be a spectacular year for Carson. #1 and probably the most important is that he will be healthy. Whether he admits it or not he was still struggling with his knee last season. An ACL tear is no joke, and expecting him to be 100% just 8-9 months after he tore it was foolish. Anyone who watched the Eagles play last year could tell he was still wary of running or extending the pocket. The good news now is that he looks to be fully healed now, he’s completely removed the knee brace during OTAs that he used to wear.
Second, is the roster. I mentioned how in 2017 the roster was primed for Carson to succeed, while 2018 really wasn’t due to personnel and injuries. The Eagle’s secondary should be healthy and ready to go. Zach Brown, Malik Jackson and Vinny Curry should make running the ball damn near impossible. Derek Barnett is back and positioned to break out. Alshon Jeffery isn’t rehabbing from surgery this offseason. Desean Jackson fits this team far better than Golden Tate ever did. Our run game looks elite with the duo of Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders. The offensive line is healthy and Dallas Goedert seems to be improving every day. This is a roster built around helping Carson light it up again like he did in 2017.
And finally I believe the mental aspect of Wentz will contribute to his dominance this year. In around 18 months he’s gone from “Best QB in the NFL”, to watching his team win a SB without him, to being labeled a bust/injury prone, to being called out in a vicious article, to being one of the highest paid athletes in the league. Emotions and pressure are high for this kid. But if you’ve followed Carson like I have, you know he is a vicious competitor and a fantastic leader. If anyone can step up to the challenge and use these motivations as fuel, it’s him.
Injuries
As I mentioned before, the first thing out of my roommates mouths were comments on Carson’s injury history. Although the common fan seems to have labeled him as “injury prone”, I am here to assure you that’s not the case.
Wentz has started and played in 40/48 possible regular season games. That puts his “games played rate” at 83.3%. Since being named the Green Bay starter Aaron Rodgers is at a 89.7% rate and Steelers legend Big Ben is at a 89.1%. So you're telling me it seems reasonable to write off a third year QB as “injury prone” despite being within 6 percent of two of the all time greats? Heck Deshaun Watson is at a 71.8% and Jimmy Garoppolo is at a 52.4%! (Since being named the 49ers starter).
Injuries happen, and ACL injuries specifically tend to be freak accidents. Writing off any young QB just because they tore their ACL, on a brutal hit, just simply isn’t fair.
Competition
When you think of potential MVP candidates the usual names tend to come up: Rodgers, Brees, Brady etc. Then there are the younger, newer names like Mahomes, Luck and Goff. When I look at the landscape of the NFL right now, I actually see very few teams built as well as the Eagles are when it comes to helping their quarterback put up big numbers.
Patrick Mahomes put up historic numbers in 2018 and won the MVP, and was probably a coin flip away from a SB appearance. Despite his obvious extreme talent, he enters 2019 with a huge target on his head and a payday looming, plus losing Kareem Hunt and possibly Tyreke Hill. It isn’t unreasonable to think he could have a down year.
Guys like Rodgers, Brees, and Roethlisberger have been trending downward for a few years now. As they get older and the defenses they play get faster, I don’t expect their names to be in MVP consideration anymore.
Tom Brady will most likely lead the New England Patriots to another Super Bowl appearance, while being sneakily efficient and utilizing his running backs a lot. However, I don’t expect to see him put up 4,500-5,000 yards.
Guys like Deshaun Watson, Matt Ryan, Goff, Russell Wilson I just don’t think are as talented as Wentz and also have worse overall offenses. I don’t think any of their teams can compare to the receiving tandem of Alshon, Nelly, Djax, Goedert and Ertz.
The one dark horse I have in the MVP competition is Andrew Luck. Luck put up close to 5000 yards last year, is only 29, has a great group of receivers, and is a fantastic leader. Combine all that with one of the best offensive lines in the league and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s battling it out with Carson for the trophy.
Contract
I initially planned to write this well before Wentz had been extended, however after the news broke last night that Carson would be receiving a 4 year contract extension worth around 32million a year, I felt obliged to include this. I personally love this contract, I believe it’s a bargain. 32mil a year would make him the 4th highest paid QB in the league at the moment, however after guys like Goff, Dak, Mahomes and Watson get their paydays, he could drop all the way down to 7th or 8th. That’s a bargain for someone who is only 26 and already a top talent in this league.
When the news broke, one of my close friends quickly texted me, shocked that I loved the deal so much. He reminded me that I have been critical of big QB contracts in the past, pointing to deals such as Aaron Rodgers’ last year. However, the difference in Wentz’ deal compared to a Rodgers deal or a Russell Wilson deal, is that were paying Wentz for what he’s GOING to do, not what he’s already done. Some of these big extensions are simply organizations rewarding their quarterbacks for past performances, we’re locking Wentz up because we’ve surrounded him with talent and need him here to win us Super Bowls, not to mention he’s 26 while Rodgers, Russ, Big Ben etc. are all over 30.
Conclusion
I am a huge Carson Wentz supporter, that much is obvious. I plan to buy a nice brand new all-white Wentz jersey before the season starts. Despite my affection for #11, I try my hardest not to be biased in my analysis. Since being drafted Wentz has been one of the best players in the league, last time he was healthy he WAS the best player in the league. Given that he’s had time off to heal, has a plethora of weapons, and a ton of motivation, it is completely possible, if not probable, he will be your 2019 NFL MVP.
Follow me on Twitter: @phillyinsider99
~all stats taken from NFL.com, pro-football-reference.com, overthecap.com~
~image from nbcsports.com~
From June 28th to July 7th, our Fightin’ Phils embarked on what would turn out to be a grueling 9 game NL East road trip. Over the course of that 9 game stretch, the Phillies went 4-5, dropping two crucial games to the Braves. This was an extremely important run of games for the Phillies, a stretch many fans were calling our last chance to convince the league we are in fact contenders heading into the All-Star break. Losing ⅔ of the series isn’t good, this team no doubt needs some serious work at the Trade Deadline if they want to remain in the playoff race.
Marlins Series: Phillies lifeless pitching staff highlights the series loss. (6/28-6/30)
The Phils kicked off the road trip with what should’ve been an easy series against Miami, however this proved to not be the case. We dropped the first two games of the series, mainly due to some extremely poor pitching. Vince Velasquez (who for some reason is still in the starting rotation) went just 4.1 innings in Game One, allowing 8 baserunners and 4 runs. Despite him launching his first career homer in the 5th to close down the gap, Jose Alvarez made sure to kill any momentum by allowing another 2 runs in the 7th. Marlins won by a score of 6-2.
The poor pitching carried over into the second game of the series, as Eflin, Nicasio and Adam Morgan combined to give up 9 runs to the lowly Marlins. Yes, NINE. Despite a pair of RBIs from both Hoskins and Kingery, and some overall good hitting, it’s near impossible to win when your pitching staff is giving up that many runs. Marlins won by a score of 9-6.
The Phils finally ended their losing streak to the Marlins on Sunday, as the bats exploded for 13 total runs. Despite yet ANOTHER poor pitching performance from Jake Arrieta (8 hits and 4 runs in just 6 innings), the offense got it done as Harper notched 3 hits and 4 RBIs, Segura knocked in 3 hits, and Brad Miller added in a pair of RBIs as well. Phillies won 13-6.
Miami Bryce. #CarryTheFreight pic.twitter.com/qvSwzCNpsv
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 1, 2019
Walking into Atlanta this was a HUGE series for the Phillies, we needed to pull some games back in the divisional race. It seemed to start as planned, with Nola looking like 2018 form, tossing 8 beautiful scoreless innings in Game One, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 8. The 2 RBIs from Jay Bruce proved enough as the Phillies won the first of the series 2-0.
Pivetta just doesn’t appear to be good does he? After a few good starts post-AAA time, Nick seems to be slumping right back into mediocrity. 6 runs and 2 homers allowed in just 5.2 innings of work was enough to earn him the loss. Throw in another 3 runs allowed by Nicasio and the Phillies lost this one 9-2. The only positive note was Bryce Harper earning both his 1,000th hit and 200th homer in the same swing, pretty awesome moment.
200th homer, hit number 1,000, all in the same swingâ–ˇ#Phillies #RingTheBell #BryceHarper pic.twitter.com/ErPpzvKI0Z
— Philly Sports Insider (@phillyinsider99) July 4, 2019
Mets Series: Jay Bruce and Aaron Nola carry us into the All-Star Break (7/5-7/7)
We can always count on the ol’ Mets to help us get out of a slump. The bats showed up in Game One at Citi Field, grabbing 2 runs off reigning Cy Young winner Jacob DeGrom (including a Kingery Dingery to start the game), and then pouring in another 5 on the Mets bullpen. Segura, Harper, Bruce, Cesar, and Sean Rodriguez all recorded at least one RBI on the day. 7-2 win for the Phillies.
Well it looks the dumpster fire that has been Jake Arrieta in 2019 may finally becoming to an end. After allowing 11 hits and 6 runs through just 4.1 innings, recording his 7th loss on the season, Jake revealed post game that he has a bone spur in his elbow. This could very realistically shut him down for the year. Jake ALSO stated post game his desire to put a dent in the skull of Todd Frazier. There were some fireworks between the two after Todd was hit with a changeup, still just a really weird situation. 6-5 loss for the Phillies
Jake Arrieta cutting a WWE promo pretty much with that sentence. pic.twitter.com/YFk0Ulg8pr
— Evan Daniel (@mrevandaniel) July 7, 2019
Despite an overall poor road trip, the Phillies do in fact head into the All-Star break riding a series win. Hopefully we can build on some of that momentum and come out of the break ready to play. JT will be the only participant that we send to Cleveland, so everyone should be well rested for when we take on the Nationals in a must win series starting July 12th.
Follow me on Twitter: @phillyinsider99
Check me out on Branded Sports
~all stats taken from mlb.com~
~image taken from cbssports.com~
May 7th, 2019
As the first wave of free agency comes to an end and the NFL Draft has come and gone, the Eagles made a ton of really good upgrades. From adding veterans like Desean Jackson and Zach Brown, to resigning Timmy Jernigan, and of course drafting stud Penn State RB Miles Sanders. The birds looked primed and ready to make another deep playoff run, with many comparing this offseason to the tremendous work Howie did back in the Super Bowl winning 2017 offseason. However, once crucial position that we are quite thinner in this go around is Defensive End.
Going into the 2017 season our DE group consisted of Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Vinny Curry and Derek Barnett. This group ran four deep, with all four being crucial parts to our defensive success. Last season, 2018, our DE rotation had Brandon Graham, Michael Bennett, Chris Long and Derek Barnett (Barnett only played 6 games due to injury). Our defensive capabilities took a great hit last season, mostly due to our lack of depth in said pass rush. Jim Schwartz has proven he works best with four edge rushers as opposed to just three.
Looking forward to 2019, our current DE room is looking like Brandon Graham, a healthy Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry and Josh Sweat. I’m ecstatic that we brought Vinny back, and excited to see Barnett play again. However, between losing Michael Bennett, Chris Long most likely retiring, and not landing a big time edge rusher in the draft, I feel signing a 4th DE should be top priority right now.
This leads me to my desire for Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah. With the compensatory pick period over, there is nothing holding us back to aggressively pursuing Ziggy. Ziggy has been a very above average edge rusher during his time in the NFL. In 2015 he recorded 14.5 sacks, and in 2017 he recorded 12.0. Last season Ziggy battled injuries (which is seemingly driving his price down), and despite only starting in 2 games all season, he still recorded 4.0 sacks and 7.0 QB hits.
In a system that contains Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, AND Timmy Jernigan on the inside, I could see Ziggy Ansah putting up very good numbers as our #3 DE. The question right now is simply: does Ziggy want to play for us? I am sure there are teams (like the pass rush needy Dolphins for example) that would pay him big bucks and offer a starting role, but the Eagles incentive of a potential Super Bowl ring might lead him to the City of Brotherly Love.
Follow me on Twitter: @phillyinsider99
~all stats taken from pro-football-reference.com~
~image taken from prideofdetroit.com~
~June 22nd, 2019~
Two nights ago I was admittedly extremely upset with how Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers Front Office handled the 2019 NBA Draft. We entered the night with 5 draft picks, including 3 between the range of pick #24 and pick #34. Most fans felt we were in a perfect situation to add a plethora of young talent to boost our nonexistent bench. With so many selections, there was even talk of moving back into the first round, via a combination of some of our second rounders. The vibe around Philly coming into the draft was extremely positive, with guys like Nassir Little, Carsen Edwards, and Bruno Fernando all projected to fall right in our lap, it seemed impossible for us to have a poor draft. I plan to walk you through each pick, and break down my own personal grade.
Pick #20 (Traded to Philadelphia via Boston for the #20th and #33rd pick): Matisse Thybulle
Grade: D
This was one of two selections the 76ers actually made on the night, drafting the 22 year old G/F out of the University of Washington. Now before people start freaking out over my grade, I love this pick. Matisse is a 6’ 5”, 195lb lockdown defender who dominated the collegiate level on the defensive side of the floor, becoming the first college athlete to average 3 steals and 2 blocks per game since 1992. Despite his offensive weaknesses, he shows extreme potential and will instantly get minutes for the 76ers. HOWEVER, the trade-up involved in this selection was simply terrible. News had obviously been leaked to the Celtics that Philly had promised to drafted Matisse (for the love of me I don’t know why teams do this), and Danny Ainge took advantage of this, managing to swindle the 33rd pick out of the Sixers. If Philly had handled this decision competently, there’s a very realistic possibility that Matisse would’ve just fallen to us at #24. For the simple reason that I feel Brand should’ve had Thybulle AND Carsen Edwards, this trade-up selection gets a solid D from me.
Pick #33 (Traded to Boston): Carsen Edwards
Grade: F
Not only did we miss out on one of the top shooting point guards in the draft, we now get to watch him light us up on the Celtics a couple times a year. Yay. A big fat F from me, Edwards would’ve instantly filled our backup PG hole, while adding shooting, AND at an extremely cheap cost.
Pick #34 (Traded to Atlanta via Philadelphia for the #57th pick and two future second rounders): Bruno Fernando
Grade: F
This trade back really, REALLY baffles me. How many times did we sit there last season in the playoffs and think to ourselves, “Wow, we could really use a backup center right about now!”. If you read my draft preview, I listed backup big as one of our top 3 needs coming into tonight, and I also even listed Bruno as a potential good fit. There we were sitting at pick #34, with a young, cheap, defensive/rebounding specialist there for the taking, and we traded back… Straight F from me.
Pick #42 (Traded to Washington via Philadelphia for Jonathan Simmons and Cash Considerations): Admiral Schofield
Grade: D
Look I’m not going to lose my head over trading away a late second rounder, 9.9 times out of 10 these guys are busts, but this was an extremely cheap and lazy move. None of us wanted J-Simms on the team anymore and it was crucial we dump his salary, but we could’ve easily just cut him or worked for some value in return. This was ownership prioritizing their own pocketbooks over young talent.
Pick #54: Marial Shayok
Grade: C
With their second selection of the night, the Sixers grabbed Marial Shayok, the 6 foot 6 Canadian combo guard out of Iowa State. He averaged just over 18 ppg for the Cyclones and shot the 3 at a decent rate (38.6%). I’m not really sure what need this pick addresses. Shayok turns 24 next month and isn’t necessarily “great” at anything. I’m sure he’ll get his chance in the Summer League to show what he can do, but I would’ve much preferred we had drafted pure shooting or a backup big.
Pick #57 (Traded to Detroit for Cash Considerations): Jordan Bone
Grade: F
This pick was a result of the trade down from #34, the pick where we lost out on Bruno Fernando. We essentially traded away from a young, backup big for some cash. Cash that goes straight into the ownership’s pocketbook. Not a fan.
Conclusion
Directly after the draft Elton Brand said, “It’ll make sense soon”. Well I’m here to say that it freaking better. The general vibe seems to be that the 76ers are prioritizing every ounce of cap flexibility in Free Agency over young talent at the moment. And while I agree with that to an extent (second round picks won’t make or break this team), I find it hard to believe the 76ers are going to find viable backups that are cheaper and better than Carsen Edwards or Bruno Fernando. Despite common belief, Patrick Peverly isn’t lining up to take a veteran minimum deal for the 76ers.
The draft sucked, I don’t think anyone is going to argue against that. And while I am excited for Thybulle, the 76ers Front Office has to have a PERFECT free agency to justify the moves they made last night.
Follow me on Twitter: @phillyinsider99
~all stats taken from NBA.com and bleacherreport.com~
~image taken from NBA.com~
The Phillies entered the All-Star Break not even remotely living up to their expectations. After a rough road trip leading into the break, things would only get more challenging for our Fightin’ Phils. Back to back series against two of the hottest teams in baseball loomed on the horizon, and with the trade deadline creeping ever closer, pressure was at an all time high. The current #1 Wild Card seed: the Washington Nationals, were up first on the agenda.
Nationals Series: Franco’s Walk-off Caps off a Depressing Weekend (7/12- 7/14)
Losing the first game in a series is never good. Losing the first game in a series, in the first series right out of the All-Star Break, against your division rivals, is even worse. Despite the bats playing relatively above their recent standards (8 hits total on the day), they were unable to ever seriously threaten Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals ace struck out 6 through 7 innings, allowing 0 runs. On the flip side the Phillies’ pitching woes continued, as Nick Pivetta extended his stretch of poor starts, lasting just 5 innings while giving up 3 runs. The one positive note on the day was Bryce Harper going 2/4 against his former team. 4-0 win for the Nationals.
Nola was simply phenomenal before the break, so it was hard not to feel confident heading into Game 2 of this series. Despite a 10 strikeout performance from lefty Patrick Corbin, the Phils had the Nats right where they wanted. After 6 really strong innings from Nola, and a good showing from both Adam Morgan and Tommy Hunter, the Phils were up 3-2 heading into the 9th inning. But then, Hector Neris happened. Just a few pitches into the inning and Neris was watching Juan Soto celebrate a 2-run homer, which proved to be the game-winner. Truly awful stuff from Hector, 4-3 win for the Nats. Despite the loss, Harper made one of the most ridiculous defensive plays I’ve seen in a long long time, check it out below.
How about this throw from @bryceharper3 last night? 310 feet and 93.5 mph, on the fly to 3B.
— #Statcast (@statcast) July 14, 2019
That's the longest OF assist tracked by #Statcast this season and tied for the 2nd-longest since 2015. pic.twitter.com/WicA4PX7Ca
Maikel Franco and the fighting Phillies walk it off against the red hot Nationals #Phillies #MLB pic.twitter.com/XbWwyVuK7Q
— Take Your Base Sports (@takeyourbasepod) July 14, 2019
The Phillies lost game one of the series 16-2. Zach Eflin got torched, the Dodgers hit a lot of home runs, and Roman Quinn got to pitch. Yep that’s pretty much it. In all seriousness this had to be one of the most embarrassing Phillies games I’ve seen in a LONG time. The place was flooded with bandwagon Dodgers fans and the result was a straight up bloodbath. It took every bit of me not to write a rage-induced article the next morning, I was pissed.
When the Phils announced Bryce Harper was a Phillie, I feel like a lot of us had this heavenly image of Harper hitting walk-offs against the Dodgers in Citizens Bank Park. Well folks, on Tuesday night that dream became a reality. After Hector Neris seemingly blew another game by giving up a 3-run shot in the 9th, the offense actually managed to rally. A few baserunners later and Harper was up to bat with 2 men on and the Phils down 1. After launching a 3-run bomb earlier in the game, Bryce was looking to end this thing, and dammit he did. Bryce scorched a baseball into CF, bouncing of Pollock and rolling to the wall. Both runs scored and the park erupted in celebration. Just awesome stuff from Harper. 9-8 victory.
My 330 million dollar KING.
— Philly Sports Insider (@phillyinsider99) July 17, 2019
WORTH. EVERY. PENNYYYYYY#Phillies #RingTheBell
pic.twitter.com/CyK29Pb8ZX
In case anyone didn’t get the memo, Bryce Harper is really, reallyyyyy good at baseball. Harper led the charge on Thursday afternoon, going ⅔ with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. This included a clutch game-tying single in the bottom of the 7th. Rhys followed that up with a 2-RBI single of his own, and the Phillies somehow managed to split the series. Nola wasn’t his typical self, allowing 4 runs in just 5 innings of work, but to be fair the Dodgers are freaky good. All in all, a really positive series for the Phillies.
What seemed like an impossible feat coming into this series, the Phillies manage to split with the Dodgers.
— Philly Sports Insider (@phillyinsider99) July 18, 2019
Our Fightin’ Phils win it 7-6, mainly on the back of Bryce Harper and his heroics. #Phillies #RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/trZyYSeUMT
Follow me on Twitter: @phillyinsider99
Check me out on Branded Sports
~all stats taken from mlb.com~
~image taken from @BaseballBros via Twitter~
~June 14th, 2019~
Last night the Toronto Raptors were crowned the 2019 NBA Champions, defeating the Warriors in what turned out to be a 6 game series. Overall, it was a very disappointing conclusion to what was an exciting season of basketball. We never got to see the much anticipated Durant-Leonard duel, Klay battled injuries all week long until he tore his ACL midway through Game 6, and Demarcus Cousins was noticeably not in shape due to his quad injury he suffered at the start of the postseason.
While watching the Finals, Sixers fans all over social media (including myself) couldn’t help but voice the thought of, “this could’ve and should’ve been us”. And while this is flawed to an extent, it is also a very reasonable thing to think going into this offseason. Just over a month ago we watched as the Raptors scraped by against us in Game 7, a couple bounces on the rim away from going to overtime. Whether the 76ers would've won in OT, or even beat the Bucks for that matter, we will never know. However, heading into the 2019/2020 season, with many experts and fans alike calling for the Sixers to “Run It Back”, I would like to delve into this team and analyze where they are at and what moves they should make in the following months.
What Went Wrong?
So why did the 76ers lose to the Raptors? To most people the Sixers appeared to be the far superior team on paper. Was it just bad luck? Was Joel Embiid truly too sick to be effective? Was it because Simmons couldn’t shoot threes??? Most of these are the most popular excuses fans like to use when it comes to reflecting on the series, and while they have their own merit, I’d like to challenge you to dig a little deeper and analyze what really went wrong.
The Bench
Having a deep roster is infinitely important when it comes to the playoffs, we all watched firsthand how the Warriors crumbled with guys like Quiin Cook or Jonas Jerebko playing significant minutes. The Sixers best player off the bench in the Toronto Raptors series was James Ennis. That’s really, really bad. Despite having a few moments, Ennis is simply not a very good player. He isn’t an effective shooter, isn’t a lockdown defender, and has no elite redeeming qualities. Combine that with no real backup Point Guard (I love TJ but realistically he isn’t usable come playoff time), no quality backup Center (Boban and Monroe aren’t good), and our only shooting threat off the bench (Mike Scott) batting injuries all series long, it was a truly pathetic bench. When guys like Serge Ibaka and Fred Van Vleet came off the Toronto bench and provided a spark for the Raptors both offensively and defensively, we had no answer for it.
The Starting Five
Our starting 5 by the end of the season was brilliant. Simmons, Redick, Butler, Harris and Embiid was easily one of the top starting units in the entire league. From a pure point scoring aspect, they were actually the BEST in the NBA. The problem arose from the pure freshness of this team. They had barely played together. Tobias and Jimmy were late additions and Embiid spent most of the second half of the season on the bench. It was apparent that there was a lack of chemistry and not everyone was being used appropriately. I don’t think there was a single game all playoffs long where all 5 of our starters had a “good” game. This is something that can realistically only be fixed with time, as the squad continues to grow together.
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons
Embiid and Simmons are phenomenal players. Anyone calling for the trade of either of these talents is flat out delusional in my opinion. From an objective standpoint, what these two have accomplished in their very young careers is nothing short of exceptional. People need to realize just how young and promising they are, Embiid is 25 and Simmons is just 22. The two best players in the Finals this year (Curry and Kawhi) were 31 and 27. JoJo and Ben have so much time to live up to their hype, most NBA superstars don’t even REACH a finals until their late 20s. Hell, Dirk Nowitzki, one of the greatest players of all time for that matter, didn’t win a Finals until the whopping age of 32. However, Simmons and Embiid’s youth and high-ceiling does not excuse them from any and all criticism.
Embiid has to find a way to stay healthy. Whether it was his knee, or his back, or a random illness, it became almost silly how often Embiid was “questionable” heading into a massive playoff game. JoJo needs to make a serious commitment to maintaining his health, and managing his work-load in the regular season. When healthy, he is without a doubt a top 5 player in the league. Embiid is a 100% complete center who just needs to stay on the floor. On the other hand, Simmons is more of an interesting case. I am fully aware that most of y'all just want him to shoot a jumper, but I genuinely don’t believe that would fix his problems. I don’t care if Ben shoots threes or not, I just simply need him to be aggressive. Too many times would Ben have a wide open lane, or a smaller defender on him, and he would pass it away or shy away from contact. Lebron James didn’t establish a half decent jumper till he was about 28, but he was ALWAYS aggressive and attacking the basket. If Ben could mimic that same offensive aggression, he could very easily become a top 10-15 talent in this league.
Free Agency
My opinion on how the 76ers front office should approach free agency is pretty simple. Just run it back. When Elton Brand signed off on the trades that would send a plethora of young talent and draft picks away for the likes of Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. It was done with the plan of doing whatever it takes to make them resign. As of right now the sixers have just five players signed through 2020: Embiid, Ben Simmons, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden, and Jonathan Simmons. They have a whopping TEN players set up to hit the open market: Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, JJ Redick, Mike Scott, Amir Johnson, Boban Marjanovic, TJ McConnell, Furkan Korkmaz (team option declined), James Ennis (player option declined), and Greg Monroe. This roster is due for an extreme overhaul this offseason. So how exactly would the Sixers look given that they offer max contracts to both Jimmy and Tobias?
First, I need to dispel a common rumor I see on Twitter, The 76ers CANNOT sign one of our big FA’s to a max AND sign a different Free Agent to a max. There is no scenario where we can get Jimmy and Klay, or Tobias and Kawhi, etc. The only way we can afford to sign both Jimmy and Tobias to maxes is due to the infamous bird rights. With this knowledge, the ONLY scenario that allows us to get two max-level players would be to retain both Butler and Harris, and in a league of super-teams, this has to be the #1 priority.
I’ve also seen comments on Twitter like “only offer Tobias 25 a year not 30”, again it doesn’t matter. Signing Tobias for 25 a year has the same effect on our cap as signing him to 45 a year, it will put us over. Outside of resigning Tobias and Jimmy, the only other players I’d like to bring back on veteran minimums would be Mike Scott and Boban (literally only because he’s friends with Harris). Other than that, we have to use our 5 draft picks to really bolster up our bench and add talent.
Now let’s seaw Tobias leave to Brooklyn, which is very likely. What do we do then? Well we could bring back JJ Redick, or go after a smaller free agent like Malcolm Brogden. Ideally this doesn’t happen, but if it does we would have to use our remaining cap to add cheap pieces around the core of Butler, Simmons and Embiid. (I am extremely confident Butler is staying in Philly by the way).
The Draft
The NBA draft kicks off in just under a week. With names like Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and RJ Barrett expected to headline it, this leaves us with wondering who the Sixers will end up with?
The 76ers own picks #24, #33, #34, #42, and #54. For a team that finished as a 3 seed this is quite a bit of draft capital, giving the front office a lot of room to operate. The first thing I think the 76ers should do is aggressively try to package something together to grab another late first round pick. Whether it costs 2 or even 3 of our second rounders, it’s a move we have to make in my opinion.
So let’s say hypothetically now we have picks #24, #27 and #33, who are the 3 players I’d like to see us grab? Cameron Johnson, Carsen Edwards, and literally ANY backup center.
Cameron Johnson is a 6’ 9”, 210lb wing player who attended UNC. He’s been heavily linked to the 76ers at that 24 spot and is literally from Pennsylvania. He would add a shooter to the court who could replace JJ (Johnson shot 34% from three last season) and would add another tall, long, 2-way defensive talent.
If we do end up with another pick in the late 20s, I say we shoot the gun early and just draft Carsen Edwards. He’s been predicted to fall into the second round but I personally feel that’s unlikely. Edwards had an electric March Madness run, and is one of the better scoring Point Guards in the draft. Him coming off the bench would a) give us a much needed backup PG, but b) could also pair very nicely next to a guy like Ben Simmons.
With the #33/34 pick, we desperately need a backup center. With Embiid on limited minutes most nights last season, we frequently saw our backup centers of Boban, Monroe and Amir get exposed. Drafting an athletic big who can rebound and protect the paint when JoJo is resting is a necessity. Guys like Bruno Fernando, Daniel Gafford, or Jontay Porter would all be viable options early in the second round.
My Expectations
This offseason is going to be a huge turning point for both the 76ers and the entire NBA. Kyrie Irving seems to be going to Brooklyn, Durant and Klay are both free agents but could be missing the entirety of 2019/2020, Toronto will be potentially defending their title without Kawhi Leonard, and a ton of other guys like Kemba, D’Angelo Russell, Boogie Cousins, and Anthony Davis could be on the move. Given all of this I feel that if the 76ers make the right moves this offseason, they should be primed for a very deep playoff run.
I fully expect Jojo to continue his dominance and maybe even contend for the MVP. I fully expect Ben Simmons to progress as a player, growing as both a free throw shooter and overall scorer. And I fully expect at least Jimmy Butler will be in a Sixers uniform on opening day. The 2019/2020 NBA season is still a ways away, but the path to a championship for Philadelphia beings right now.
Follow me on Twitter: @phillyinsider99
~all stats taken from NBA.com and basketball-reference.com~
~image taken from NBA.com~