Warriors beat writer Danny Emerman shares his thoughts on the NBA.
In Los Angeles this week after losing to the Clippers, Draymond Green waxed poetic about his teammate Steph Curry, who has continued to be generous and welcoming even as he has become a global superstar.
One young All-Star asked Green for Curry’s number over the summer and was nervous about how to ask him questions. Guys in the league look at Curry like a “mythical superhero,” Green said, yet he doesn’t carry himself like he’s better than anyone else. He has always understood the value of chemistry, and works to make his teammates feel comfortable on the court and in the locker room. As players revere him, Curry invites them in.
Boy, that does not sound like Joel Embiid.
A quick rundown on the 76ers so far: Embiid played in the Olympics this summer, then missed the first six games this season with what the team termed injury management (the Sixers were fined for making inconsistent statements on the center’s health); Embiid got suspended two additional games for shoving a columnist who wrote a distasteful hit piece; Paul George, the team’s massive free agent acquisition, has injured his knee twice already and played in just eight games; in a team meeting, Tyrese Maxey reportedly called out Embiid for being late “for everything”; irate that details of the meeting became public, Embiid said, “whoever leaked that is a real piece of (expletive).”
Deep breath.
The 76ers and Embiid are 3-12. Perhaps more than anything, they’re showing that the face of the franchise’s character has enormous power.
Embiid, the 2023 league MVP, is an amazing player. He’s one of the most dominant scorers to ever pick up a basketball. But there have been persistent questions about his conditioning, his attitude, and now his work ethic.
Embiid has declared that he’s not playing back-to-backs this year. His style can devolve from spectacular offensive force to disgusting foul-baiting and flopping. He whines to officials instead of running back on defense. He has faded away in big moments late in playoff games.
Whatever leadership gene Embiid appears to lack, it isn’t all his fault.
When he entered the league, Embiid joined an organization that was trying to lose. He sat out two straight years, taking a scenic route to superstardom that required both mental and physical resilience. He worked hard to recover from foot, knee, face and head injuries. He has played through pain and illness in the postseason.
It also wasn’t Embiid’s fault that Ben Simmons imploded. Or that the James Harden experiment failed — it didn’t work in Brooklyn, either. Embiid has had huge playoff games, and it’s not all his fault that the Sixers haven’t made it out of the second round in this era.
Philadelphia might also turn this thing around. It’s early and they’re four games out of the fifth seed in a horrible conference. They’re probably not a “This is Going to Be Fun” Lakers situation.
But teams often take on the personality of their best player. The Warriors sure know that, and so do the Sixers.
The Warriors’ record is safe…or is it?
When the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers this week, they prevented Cleveland from threatening the Warriors’ record of 24 straight wins to start a season.
The Cavs (16-1) are still rolling, and their 15 straight wins to open the year were tied with two other teams as the second-longest perfect start.
The Warriors’ 24-0 record is safe, but is it possible the Cavs aim their sights on Golden State’s untouchable 73-9 season?
They play in the East, which is notably weaker once again (Eastern Conference teams are 22-41 against the West so far). They have depth to withstand absences and their core players are in their prime. They can win in multiple ways and are well-coached.
But it’d be shocking if they become a historically great team.
To reach 73 wins, Cleveland would need to go 57-8 the rest of the way. That’s a .877 win percentage — the same as the 1996 Chicago Bulls who went 72-10.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index that projects results for remaining schedules, Cleveland is projected to finish with 61 wins. In Vegas, their updated win total over/under is set at 56.5.
Never is a long time, but we’ll never see that 2015-16 Warriors season again.
Jurassic World
The lack of creativity with so many of the NBA Cup and City Edition courts has been disappointing. Take a swing! Do something weird! Even if it doesn’t work, at least you tried. There are so many talented people online who have created sweet logo or jersey redesigns, none of whom work for the NBA or Nike.
Then there’s the Raptors court, which is absolutely phenomenal. Take notes, other 29 franchises.
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Touch of Magic
Since Paolo Banchero’s oblique injury, Franz Wagner is averaging 25.4 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds in 12 games. He and Banchero are the next Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — a two-way alpha wing combination. Can the Magic surround them with enough shooting?
Caught on the right night
The Atlanta Hawks aren’t nearly as bad as they were on Wednesday in the Chase Center, where they couldn’t stop turning the ball over and bricked all their shots. They can’t be that bad…can they?
The thing with the Hawks is that they have real guys. Jalen Johnson is a modern power forward. Zaccharie Risacher has a lot of potential as the first pick. Dyson Daniels has been a revelation and De’Andre Hunter and Onyeka Okongwu are only getting better.
Trae Young is super talented — that was never the issue — but Atlanta’s probably overdue for a fresh start.
Paul George has a bone bruise in his left knee
Turns out that the Clippers deciding not to play ball with a Warriors trade wasn’t the worst thing in the world for Golden State.
Buried the Bucks
I’m afraid I wrote off the Milwaukee Bucks too early, when they were 2-7 and spiraling. They’ve since won five of six and are 7-9 overall.
The real miscalculation was not realizing how pitiful the East is. At 7-9, Milwaukee is one game out of the fifth seed. Just four teams in the conference have a winning record.
So the Bucks will be a playoff team, for sure. But the same issues that blared alarm bells in the first month of the season are going to be there when they inevitably get bounced from the playoffs early.