The 76ers need to stop playing with their food
Top reason the Philadelphia 76ers experience upsets
1. The Give-a-Darn meter: Is anybody out there, does anybody care (h/t Def Leppard):
Kyle Neubeck, who does an excellent job covering the team for Philly Voice, has what he calls a ‘Give-a-Darn meter’ (well, he uses a harsher name than darn, but this is a family site), which is employed when the Sixers appear to well, not give a darn.
The 76ers have not made it past the second round of the NBA playoffs since 2001, yet they seem to act like they have done something significant, even though they haven’t. This is not a new problem. After losing to Atlanta in seven games two years ago, players talked about how they had taken the No. 5 seeded Hawks lightly.
Adding veterans like James Harden, and PJ Tucker does not alleviate that situation. An early December game at Houston against an awful Rockets team might not stir the competitive juices, but the win still counts in the standings just as much as a victory over the Denver Nuggets. A loss, which the Sixers did, and with their regular lineup) is even more devastating, as their closest rivals probably will notch a victory over that same team.
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We’ve all seen the ‘Give-a-Darn’ meter hitting a Zero or a 1. How somehow, nobody players are scoring like Steph Curry from outside, or driving unimpeded into the paint for an layup. And, offensively, just chucking it to Joel Embiid or Harden and then everyone stands there and watch.
Simply put, they just do not care very much and assume they can flip a switch and play for real in the second half and still win. Embiid has admitted he sometimes tries to save his energy for the second half and limit his running in the first.
But at least Embiid is honest. You can tell by their actions that plenty of other players are saving themselves for … nothing. Harden and Embiid can turn it on, but no one else on the team should be jaking it, ever.
But they do, and its a problem
Upcoming are two games with Orlando and one each with San Antonio and Houston. All should be ‘Ws’ for the Sixers. If not, they got caught playing with their food too much.
