Brett Brown is not shy in admitting he knows his team needs an all-star caliber player to add to the current roster to really make them a championship contender.
Brown told Derek Bodner of The Athletic “I think another high level free-agent is required [to win a championship]. I think we have the ability to attract one.”
There is no doubt the Sixers are more than capable of attracting some big name players nowadays. After trusting the process for years, it finally paid off with not only making the playoffs, but also advancing to the second round. Not too mention having guys like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, whose talents alone can attract other stars.
In previous years, hearing Lebron’s name come up in free agency with the Sixers would be a joking matter. Success changes things however and now it’s something that is a distinct possibility. That’s something not lost on Brown, who when pressed for what player they want to get this summer kept it simple. “We don’t have to turn this into calculus. It’s quite clear.”
Of course, the Sixers are far from the only team with hopes of attracting Lebron for next season but they have definitely put themselves in a position for it to be more than just a dream.
In an odd twist of fate, Tilman Fertitta, who owns both the Houston Rockets and the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, is watching one of his investments cost him money on the other. That’s because the sportsbook inside the Golden Nugget is already paying out for the Warriors winning the Western Conference before the series even begins.
Fertitta purchased the Rockets back in September of 2017 for $2.2 billion dollars. He had already owned the Golden Nugget so when he became owner of the Rockets as well, the sportsbook made the decision to remove the team from all NBA futures bets to avoid any potential conflicts. According to ESPN’s David Purdum, they also removed the team from the possibility of “finishing best” in the West and the NBA Finals.
That means since the Rockets weren’t available to be bet on, the Warriors have technically already “finished best” in the Western Conference and people who placed those bets can already come collect their winnings, even if they were to wind up losing the series.
“We’ve already graded [the Warriors] a winner,” Golden Nugget sportsbook manager Aaron Kessler said. “Bring your ticket and you’ll get paid.”
What’s worse for Fertitta is if the Rockets defeat the Warriors, the same thing will apply for the Finals. Since nobody was able to bet the Rockets would “finish best” in the Finals, that means anyone who had bet the Celtics or Cavs winner would automatically win their Finals bet as well.
According to Kessler, despite the potential of large payouts, it won’t make or break them. “It would be decent handle in a slow month, but it’s not going to kills us if we don’t book The Finals. We’d still have baseball, and we still have the [Vegas Golden] Knights.”
This isn’t the first time a Vegas casino stopped taking bets on an NBA team due to possible conflicts. Back in 2006, Caesars Palace stopped taking bets on Boston Celtics games when casino executive, Gary Loveman, took an ownership stake in the team.
The Toronto Raptors have announced they are firing coach Dwane Casey, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The Raptors decided to make the move despite Casey just setting a franchise record with 59 wins and being a candidate for coach of the year. This feels mostly like an overreaction to being swept by Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers more than anything else.
It’s really hard to defend a team firing a coach who is coming off a record setting year. The Raptors won 59 games this season and their record improved in six of the seven seasons that Casey was coach. Granted, the season didn’t end how they wanted but it’s also really hard to blame Casey for the way the team played against the Cavs. It never really looked as if the Cavs were necessarily the better team. It more so looked like a team in the Raptors who were in fear of one player and were mentally defeated long before the series ended.
You have to wonder who the Raptors feel they can hire who will come in and get more from the current team. Do they believe they will find a coach who can win 60+ games and get the franchise to the NBA Finals? Those things happening next season are very doubtful, regardless of who is the next coach is. Reports say both Mike Budenholzer and Jerry Stackhouse will get serious consideration.
For Casey personally, there is no doubt he won’t be unemployed for long. Expect him to get offers rather soon to coach elsewhere next season and deservedly so.
The Philadelphia 76ers were the trendy pick to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and some folks even had them making it all the way to the NBA Finals. The Sixers had a hell of a season and won more games than anyone had expected but nevertheless, reality came crashing down on them on Wednesday night, as the Boston Celtics eliminated them, ending the series in five games.
The series with the Celtics exposed some things that the Sixers will need to fix and focus on moving forward but there is no doubt the future is extremely bright in the city of brotherly love. It’s a confidence that is not lost on their best players, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. In fact, right after the season ending loss, Embiid was comparing the Sixers potential to that of a young Oklahoma City Thunder that struggled at first with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, before turning into a powerhouse franchise.
“Me and Ben have a lot of room to grow”, Embiid said to reporters after the game. “I was thinking about it, just looking at what KD and Westbrook, what they did their first season together. I think they only won 28 games or something like that. Looking at what we did, we’ve got a bright future.”
Fans in Philly would clearly love if Embiid & Simmons can wind up having careers the likes of Durant & Westbrook, except for the whole not being able to keep them together thing. Regardless, Embiid does have a great point about what young talent can morph into.
He went on to share that Simmons came up to him after the game and let him know they will win multiple championships together. “At the end of the game (Simmons) came up to me and showed me his hands and was like, ‘There’s gonna be a lot of rings on these.’ I was like, ‘For sure.’”
This season may not have ended how the players and fans in Philly had hoped but this should only be the start of many years of deep postseason runs and championship potential to come.
By now I’m sure you have all heard the story about Victor Oladipo sending a text to his trainer just minutes after being eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers. His “When do we start?” message to the trainer showed that despite just losing, he wasn’t looking forward to taking any time off or making summer travel plans. He was ready to get right back into it but as we have since found out, he also had time to take care of even more important matters.
Oladipo found out about a young Pacers fan who was having a much tougher time in life than just dealing with the loss of a basketball game. Cameron Kirk, a 10 year old Pacers fan, who was diagnosed with Leukemia on April 16th and has been getting chemotherapy treatment since, was thrilled when he received his letter from Oladipo, which encouraged him to stay strong.
This man is hands down one of the best role models in a long time! His speech after Game 7 was phenomenal & Cameron receiving this today proves his words are genuine! Thank you @VicOladipo you put a huge smile on my son’s face and made mom & dad’s hearts happy! #CaptainKirkpic.twitter.com/W4mYyHiRGr
I recently heard about your battle with Leukemia, and I just wanted to encourage you to stay strong! I know this is a scary and very frustrating time right now, but you must believe in yourself and everyone around you that is helping you through this time.
May God give you the strength, comfort, and special blessings that you need as you face each new day. No matter the road you are given, remember to never give up. You never know what God has planned for your life.
I wish you all the best through your treatment and encourage you to keep a positive attitude and listen to your doctors, nurses, and parents — they are there to help you win this battle! All my teammates and I are #CameronStrong.
All the best, Victor Oladipo #4 Indiana Pacers
For Cameron’s mother, Carrie, who has had to see her son get weaker and pale with all the treatments, it was an overwhelmingly heartfelt moment.
“I won’t tell you what he said about LeBron,” she said with a laugh. “Cameron has just been very thankful that Victor would take the time to do this during the playoffs. He’s a very quiet kid, especially with what’s been going on.
“He just paused for a moment, and had this huge grin on his face. You could just tell.”
Something like this can go a long way to keeping a young child’s spirits up and letting them know that people out there really care about their well being. Just another reason to be a fan of Oladipo for doing class things like this.
The matchup between the Thunder and Jazz will be more exciting than everyone is expecting. The OKC Thunder are clicking on all cylinders right now and the shooters have been red-hot heading into the postseason. The Jazz have been clicking as well heading into the postseason as they won 6 of the last 7 games. Both teams want to set the physical tone in the paint and on the perimeter to get the upper advantage on the opposition. These teams know each other very well especially with being in the same division. The Thunder have the season series edge on the Jazz winning (3-1) in the 4 games played this season. That was the regular season and this is now the playoffs where it’s win or go home. This will be Donovan Mitchell’s first taste of the postseason but this will also be the first playoff game for OKC’s Big 3 playing together as well. One thing the Oklahoma City Thunder have an advantage in this series is playoff experience and instant offense. In the playoffs, OKC’s Big 3 playoff career stats combined are 70 PPG, 14.6 APG, 21.1 RPG. The Utah Jazz only have 4 years of experience in their starting lineup with 2 players in Rubio/Mitchell that will be making playoff debuts in OKC Sunday. The Thunder Big 3 combined has 23 years of playoff experience combined.
Below is a breakdown of matchups position by position and who will win that matchup and why including each teams bench.
Starting Point Guard Matchup – Russell Westbrook vs Ricky Rubio (Matchup Winner: Russell Westbrook)
Russell Westbrook is the reigning MVP and Ricky Rubio will have his hands full trying to guard or score on “The Brodie”. Russell Westbrook has locked in on the defensive end and he’s also playing within the offense finding his teammates with ease. Russell Westbrook is a matchup nightmare for anyone that wants to take the challenge of trying to stop him. Westbrook has one of the best mid-range jumpers in the game and he can easily blow by any defender. Ricky Rubio isn’t known for his defense or his offense but he’s able to find his teammate for assists. The biggest problem for Rubio is the fact that Westbrook stays in the passing lane and his intensity on the defensive end will make it tough to find his teammates at times. The way that Westbrook played all season and especially the way he ended the season shows that he will do anything to lead his team to victory. A lot of people don’t give Westbrook credit for his leadership and I don’t know why. All season Westbrook has led this team through the ups and downs. Westbrook put the team on his back and leads them inside and outside the locker room. Westbrook is the engine of this Thunder train and if the Utah Jazz want a chance to even stop this train they would need to double him. The problem with that is now Westbrook has help in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony which makes it tough on any opponent. Westbrook finished the season averaging 25.6 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 10.1 APG and I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon especially if Rubio doesn’t get help on the defensive end.
Starting Shooting Guard Matchup – Paul George vs Donovan Mitchell (Matchup Winner: Paul George)
Paul George gets the nod in this matchup just off the fact he reminded the media today that we haven’t seen “Playoff P”. On a serious note, PG-13 has found his shooting mojo as of late and it’s at the right time for the Thunder playoff run. Paul George is one of the best two-way players in the world and he will use the (ROTY) Mitchell as an example of how it is to lock up in clutch moments. Once Andre Roberson went down for the season Paul has picked it up defensively and has taken the challenge to guard the other teams best player. What people don’t get about PG-13 is that deflections/steals lead to easy buckets for him to get his offensive game going. When PG is being aggressive in games getting to the line 10+ times in a game the Thunder are 10-1 on the season and if he continues to attack it could be a quick round for Mitchell and Utah. When PG has his shot going early that opens up every element of his game from attacking, playmaking, and his confidence. Donovan Mitchell will have a huge task on his hands guarding Paul George but has a chance to slow him down a little bit. You can’t stop a player like PG you just hope to contain him and that’s what Mitchell will have to do. On the flip side, Paul George will have to defend Mitchell who averaged 20.5 PPG as a rookie and played amazing all year. Paul George will get physical with Mitchell and try to get him off his game early in games to knock his confidence down a couple notches. Mitchell will have to prove that he can lead the Jazz in 4-7 straight games against OKC and I don’t see that happening especially since PG is swarming you on defense. Mitchell is a rookie and doesn’t know the intensity of the playoffs yet and will make some mistakes because of lack of intensity. This will definitely be a great matchup but Paul George has the upper advantage overall.
Starting Small Forward Matchup – Corey Brewer vs Joe Ingles (Matchup Winner: Joe Ingles)
Joe Ingles has a slight advantage in this matchup because of his extended role on his team. Corey Brewer has been with the Thunder for only 16 games and will need to continue at the pace he’s been playing at in the playoffs. Brewer hurt his knee the other night against the Grizzlies and we don’t know if that will play a factor in his playing style. Brewer can defend and knock down 3 pointers for the Thunder but can he do it for 4-7 games straight against Ingles who means so much to this Jazz team. Joe Ingles will try to make it hard on Brewer with his playmaking ability, aggressiveness to the rim, and his knockdown shooting. Ingles is the emotional leader for this Jazz team and if he gets his confidence going he can get the better of Brewer in this matchup. Both players average about the same amount of points (10 PPG) with their respective teams and the player that gets their game going will boost that squad. Joe Ingles has a bigger role on his team and the Jazz depend on him more for offensive purposes as for Corey Brewer he takes what the defense gives him. Overall this should be a great matchup to watch for that isn’t star-studded in this series.
Starting Power Forward Matchup – Carmelo Anthony vs Derrick Favors (Matchup Winner: Carmelo Anthony)
Carmelo Anthony hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2015 with the New York Knicks and this will be his moment to put the NBA on notice. People have always labeled Melo as a ball stopper and when he came to OKC he sacrificed his ball-dominant style for this very moment to be in the playoffs. Carmelo has made the adjustments and will showcase his new playing style on a Derrick Favors that isn’t used to guarding a scoring threat like Carmelo in a series. This is a total mismatch for Favors because Melo can beat you anyway offensively once he gets the ball in his spot you’re at his mercy. Melo has been able to change his game to play off of Westbrook and PG but that has given him more energy to play on the defensive end as well. Melo increased his dunks and blocks this season with the Oklahoma City Thunder which shows he still has what it takes to prove doubters wrong. Favors will have his hands full on both ends and will have to use his post moves to advantage if he wants to at least make a serious impact in the series. The way that Westbrook and Anthony attack those boards it will be hard for Favors to have a consistent double-double effort in this series. Favors won’t be able to body Melo in the paint like he does other players that guard him because Anthony is stout and unmovable at times on the block. Carmelo Anthony will be able to draw Derrick Favors away from the basket which will leave him on “Melo Island” where he can get beat with the jumper or the quick first step of Melo. When you take Favors away from the basket it leaves the Jazz struggling on the defensive end when people attack the rim. Overall Carmelo Anthony will be feeling right at home in this matchup especially since the game slows down in the postseason.
Starting Center Matchup – Steven Adams vs Rudy Gobert (Matchup Winner: Toss Up)
This matchup between Steven Adams and Rudy Gobert will most definitely be EPIC!!! It’s very rare in the NBA to get a good matchup at the center position nowadays since the way the game has evolved into a permieter dominated sport. With that being said we get to see one of the most improved players (Big Kiwi) against one of the best defenders in the NBA (Eiffel Tower). This matchup can go both ways because each player has a post presence and great post moves. This matchup will come down to who is playing better at the rim and helping their teammates the most on the defensive end. Steven Adams has the smooth offense with a mini hook and catching alley-oops from Westbrook but Rudy Gobert also can dunk on opponents and shoot the occasional mid-range jumper. Both have improved on their skill set and it will be a great matchup in the paint. The thing that would help Adams in this matchup if I can choose one would be the fact that OKC has slashers that will cause Gobert to help on defense leaving Adams open a lot more. Rudy Gobert has stepped his game up as seen in last years postseason so we will have to see both of them in action in Game 1 and re-evaluate this matchup. This is one of those matchups that everyone will be looking forward too in the entire postseason.
Bench Matchup – OKC Thunder Bench vs Utah Jazz Bench (Matchup Winner: Thunder Bench)
The Thunder bench has more experience as a unit and has found their identity. Jerami Grant and Raymond Felton have been able to put the Thunder bench on their back and hold it down in moments when Westbrook, George, and Anthony need rest. The Thunder may be without Alex Abrines who has been great as of late but OKC’s bench is clicking at the right time as a whole. On the other end, the Jazz has players like Crowder and Exum who can get hot at times but haven’t been consistent on a nightly basis. The Thunder have been able to put together a great number of games at the end of the season which have boosted the benches confidence. If Grant and Felton can continue to play at this high level the Thunder bench will be fine. It’s going to come down to who’s bench has less responsibility in this series and with OKC’s firepower, it’s going to have the Jazz bench scrapping to try to stay in games by the time they come in the game.
I have the Thunder winning this series 4-1 as I believe the Thunder will have a lot of mismatches to expose in this matchup against Utah. If the Thunder continue to shoot the way they did to end the season this should be a quick round before they run into the 2nd round opponent. Westbrook, Anthony, and George formed together this summer to play for this very moment and I don’t see the Utah Jazz doing anything to pose a threat to their road to the NBA Finals.
Photo Credit: (Nate Billings, The Oklahoman) (Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman) (Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports)
