This is a DISASTER for the Sixers….

This is a DISASTER for the Sixers….

The Salt Lake City portion of summer league is now in the books and we’ve gotten our first look at several new members of this Philadelphia 76ers team. However, one familiar Achilles heel does seem to be on display that I think the team has yet to address in the offseason. On top of this, Gshan Yabelli says goodbye to Philadelphia and announces his arrival to the New York Knicks. Do want to reflect on what he said about the fan base in his goodby goodbye letter overall and talk about how he’s directly related to this little Achilles heel that we did find. Now overall here I did want to lead that VJ Edgecom backto-back games that he has sat out. I still am not in panic mode yet. I think this is a little bit of he dropped 28 and 10 in his debut was the clear-cut best player on the floor against a team playing NBA players who has served legitimate minutes before with Bryce Sens uh Sensenbach there with Isaiah Kier there. the Jazz rolling out guys that did clock some real minutes for them there and VJ Edgecom looked like the guy if there was if there is any sort of injury right here which I am under the impression it is a right thumb issue that he is dealing with here if he was playing through this in summer league we all would be up in arms so I’m going to accept it as that that he’s a little banged up right here and truthfully that Las Vegas summer league is the bigger deal from the NBA perspective that’s the one that all 30 teams are active in and I think that he will be back on the floor for that if if he is not playing in the Vegas summer league that’s when we we we can begin to have some panic a little bit. But for now, I’m going to continue enjoying and watching the highlights of our first look that we did get at VJ with that lone game that he did play in Salt Lake City. Now, I want to start with talking about what Garan Yuselli said in his little farewell farewell to Philadelphia here before I shift this right over to the Achilles heel conversation. He starts off saying, “Dear Philly, it’s hard to find the words to say goodbye after such an intense year. Representing the city and spending the season at your side has been an immense honor. You’ve welcomed me with open arms, supported me through good times and bad, and I’ll never forget the indescribable energy at the Wells Fargo Center on game night. I came here with the desire to give it my all to show that I belong in the NBA. Every moment spent defending this jersey has been a chance to grow, to push my limits, and become a better version of myself. Thank you to the franchise, my teammates, and the staff, and especially to you for your support. This chapter is closed, but I will always keep a special place in my heart for you. Leber, Garishan, Yabuselli. Garishan’s the man, and I have zero hate in my heart. I can’t I I can’t get to the point where I’m frustrated that he went to the Knicks. And again, it could be 28 other NBA teams that I would be far more happy. I would have been a full out Garan supporter on the Nuggets or the Spurs or wherever else he wanted to go. It does suck that is the New York Knicks, but nonetheless, I can’t fault this man for going and getting his money. And frankly, if we are going to assign blame in this entire conversation, I think the biggest slice of the blame pie still has to be handed to the Philadelphia 76ers organization. But nonetheless, I agree with some of the takes in the comments that our I guess determination or our interpretation of Garan Yabuselli has become a bit inflated for who he is as a basketball player at this point. I think in what was an absolutely lifeless and one of the worst seasons of basketball that I’ve ever seen here, he was a bright spot that we were able to cling to on a night-night basis. But I do wonder how this translates and what he did not do while he was still on the floor was fix this familiar Achilles heel the Phillies have faced that being rebounding the basketball. Last season the Sixers ranked 30th in rebounds per game at 39.8. They were 25th in opponents rebounds allowed 45.5 meaning they were averaging being outrebounded per game there. They were 30th in def in rebounding percentage overall 47.1% there and 30th in defensive rebounding percentage at 67.8%. So what does that mean there? That last percentage that on their other team’s possession, so they are playing defense here. They have they should have the inside track for getting the rebound. They’re only pulling that up 67.8% of the time. So only about twothirds of the time here. That is just not going to win you a lot of basketball games. And that is going to be a flaw that ultimately comes back to bite you. If other teams are getting more possessions, getting more opportunities to shoot the basketball than you, they are more likely than not going to end up with more points. That is just sort of how the math does work on that one. Now, one of the guys that could potentially be brought in to fix this is second round pick Jai Broom. And I am not the biggest Jai Broom guy. I’ve already sort of gone through my whole motions here where they first made the pick. I was like, I see nowhere where this dude’s an NBA player. I hate the selection. I think there were far better options on the floor. Then I really dove into the tape, watched some of the college film, and could talk myself into it of like, okay, I see the vision for what they see. My concerns are still there. Now, we’ve got three games of a sample size in summer league. And it is stunning to me that some guys, some people whose NBA opinions I respect, such as Keith Smith right here, saying, “I’m trying not to overreact to summer league, but Janai Broom was a steal.” I just don’t know if I’m watching the same guy that these guys are. And to highlight Broom specifically, what he has brought to the table that just last night he finished with eight points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks. Now, what was particularly disappointing to me last night and to pull up the full box score which was the Sixers first summer league win 91 to 90 shot to Judah Mintz coming through 26 points really took over down the stretch there had three assists three rebounds here but did want to highlight Jai Broom specifically he was three of 11 from the floor 0 for five from three two for four at the free throw line he had five of his 12 boards on the offensive end just one assist there which is something that is kind of concerning to me and the eight points and what is particularly frustrating to me about last night is There was no Adona, there was no VJ Edgecom, there was no Alex Reese, that this could have been the Janai Broom show if he wanted to be and he didn’t really assert himself like that. Now, to give the dude a little bit of credit, I will say he’s notably lost some weight since college. That one of my biggest concerns with Jibroom it was the lack of athleticism. That there’s no way around acknowledging that he’s going to be one of the worst athletes in the NBA. And I understand this is a sky-high bar here. And I tweeted out a video on draft night of me doing a a vertical jump higher than Janai Broom. And while that was like a joke there, it’s also kind of concerning that that’s the reality that you can see it in his game that he just can’t get vertical. He can’t get off the floor and you’re going to struggle to pull in rebounds if that is the case. He has great strength, great fundamentals from a rebounding perspective, but he still doesn’t strike me as a guy who has those like instincts of like I can feel where the ball is coming off the rim. You see the guys that have it where they can just see it before it gets there and are attacking that space. That doesn’t feel like Janai to me that I think the guy works his butt off, gets in position, and uses his strengths, but he can’t get vertical, and he doesn’t seem to have quite that same read. I think the rebounding numbers might not be as impactful as we were sort of hoping for here. And we sort through the other options on this roster, it’s Andre Drummond and Adm Bona. Now, Bona, I’ve been very encouraged with what I’ve seen from him in the summer league. I think he’s screening really well. I think he’s still in that guy that is the barebones center that he’s very clearly to me going down that Clint Capella type archetype where he’s going to set screens, he’s going to catch lobs, he’s going to block shots, and he’s going to rebound the basketball. That’s all that he’s going to do. And if you can do all those things at a high level, there is a place for you in the NBA at a long for a long time. The thing that’s been most encouraging to me about Bona is he feels far more intentional this season or at least in summer league to this point that there was this kind of a all over the place feeling to the way that he played basketball last year and certainly dating back to his time at UCLA here. Everything he does just feels like there’s a little bit more purpose this year and I think that’s a really important characteristic that he’s improving on there. So I’m confident that Bona will be a guy that makes an impact but I still don’t think he’s the clear fix for it. Andre Drummond is obviously going to be back on this Sixers roster for better or for worse as it was out of Philadelphia’s control. I think if all things were equal if he was just a free agent here that he would be packing his bags and playing elsewhere next year, but the Sixers did not have a choice as they obviously handed him the player option. The one-year contract with a player option did the tail end last season in a season that went directly off the rails with Drummond being a key part of that to be perfectly honest here. He’s coming back now. I think Drummond will be better than he was last year. I don’t think he’s going to be like the competent backup center or the fix to any of these issues. Drummond’s also a guy that I think falls a little bit in that Janai Broom category where he is going to be landlocked. He’s not going to be getting vertical. And honestly, Drummond stuff, while the rebounding numbers are absurd when you just look at the raw numbers, there’s a bit of it that feels a little fake to me of like this is a guy who’s constantly around the rim. He misses his own shot three times to get two of those rebounds before the put back. Like that’s kind of the Andre Drummond experience to an extent. And I don’t know how much that directly raises the ceiling or floor of the Sixers team here, but those are basically the options we’re looking at from the backup center perspective. And this is all baked into the question, the never- ending question of how many games will Joel Embiid even suit up for this year of how regular are we talking about a Dem Boner or Andre Drummond or Jana Broom being a starting center for this Sixers team? Those are kind of scary options for me. I think the more that I digest things, look at the way that the roster has sort of fallen here. You got to find a way to add another rebounder. And this once again points me to the conversation of I I think this is the end of the Ricky Council era here in Philadelphia that I do think you need to cut Ricky and bring in a highlevel four, a guy that could potentially play either position there and really make an impact on the boards. Whether that is Precious Aua, there’s a couple other names floating around there at this point in the game. I think they’ve done well with guys like Jabari Walker who I I could see making an impact. Trendan Watford I’m really intrigued by as a player but rebounding one of the weaker parts in his game despite him being sort of a small forward power forward type blend that he’s a guy that I’m be way more impressed with for running offense and creating shots for himself and being pretty versatile from a skill set perspective but rebounding not near the top of the list there. So hopefully we get a little bit more from Janai Broom and the Vegas summer league here. Again, I’m not going to have any notable takeaways or change my real thoughts on a guy based on this setting of basketball. It is even at its best like highle pickup hoops and kind of tough for some of the more polished players to fit in. Let’s not forget that just last season we saw Jared McGain sort of struggle in summer league that at best he was like okay he was fine and then he totally popped in the regular season when there are plays being run there is motion there is more cohesiveness from a team perspective you know the guys you’re playing with a little bit better. So this is not time to panic just yet. But I do think that the more I sit back and think about it that rebounding could be that issue that the Sixers are facing once again this year. That could be the biggest concern with this team and there are a lot to get into there. So, we’ll see how things shake out. Very excited to see a better look at Vegas summer league and do hope BJ Edgecom is back on the floor. But, let me know what you guys think about each of these below. Drop your thoughts on Jana Brim cuz I feel like he’s quietly turning into one of those more polarizing Sixers players where everyone has a bit of a different opinion on him. So, do want to hear from you guys below. So, if you have not already, make sure you’re smashing that subscribe button, dropping a like on this video here, dropping your thoughts on Janai Broom. I’ll be back talk with you next time right here on Sixers Digest. Peace.

This is a DISASTER for the Sixers….

The NBA summer league continues on with the Sixers next set to travel to Las Vegas. Sean Barnard reflects on some takeaways from the first three games, a HUGE concern he still has on this Sixers roster, and highlighted Guershcn Yabusele’s exit letter to Philadelphia..

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