Now that we’ve had a week to digest the Sixers game 7 slaughter in Boston, it’s time to address the proverbial elephant in the room.
Do the Sixers have a culture problem?
You’d have to wonder if that’s fair to call into question at this stage of the Sixers window of championship contention. With Doc Rivers gone and James Harden’s reported desire to return to the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia is at a contention crossroads this summer, an impasse where the next head coach will be an essential piece to the Sixers title hopes, but he won’t be the only piece. According to ESPN, Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams will all be on the team’s short list of candidates, but again, it isn’t just about the lead tactician for this team.
In addition to the introduction of a new bench boss, the Sixers should be looking for players that help foster an identity as well. Think back to game 4 of Philly’s semi-finals match-up against Boston at Wells Fargo Center, when a struggling Joel Embiid was met late in the game by an impassioned PJ Tucker giving him an ear full before an emblazon Tucker went to convert on an end-one attempt at the free-throw line.
“He just got on me, he said I need to be me… that was when I found myself together, you know, started thinking how to attack them best, like I was doing in the first quarter,” Embiid told reporters that night. “He just got on me about going back to myself and being aggressive.”
It’s one thing when a message like that comes from a coach, it’s another one when it comes from a teammate; especially when it comes from one that has won before like Tucker has. This, in part, is why this team is so frustrating as presently constructed.
The Sixers are an objectively good team, with the reigning MVP on their roster in Embiid. And Tyrese Maxey is a talented young player as well. There are pieces so it’s not a,“ burn it all to the ground” situation here. At least not yet.
In any sport, roster configurations can be looked at like a picture puzzle. Only, there are no end pieces and no lid to the puzzle to see what the final picture looks like. The roster is in a consummate state of evolution and sometimes, you won’t know that a piece fits until you actually go out and acquire said piece and see how it meshes with your group.
We can debate all day long on whether or not “the process” was truly a success here, or whether or not it helped foster an laissez-faire environment where winning comes secondary to individual success with the inmates running the asylum so long as one has draft picks in their back pocket. To be honest, that is another topic that could be discussed in long-form another day.
One thing is for certain though; something is missing with this Sixers squad and this summer may be their only true chance to correct it. The Sixers need some vocal leaders willing to hold their teammates accountable to augment their talent. It’s a message that cannot come from the bench or front office and if there were a player available (Dame Llliard anyone?), that has possessed the mental toughness of a PJ Tucker and high-end talent of an Embiid, that would work even better. Unlike the process years, Philly is no longer in the asset management business. They are strictly on the Joel Embiid timeline, as he is now 29-years-old and has no post-season of note yet in his career. Any trade or signing set to come this summer needs to happen with that in mind.
This fork-in-the-road, pivotal off-season could be the difference between a parade down Broad Street and the process 2.0.
