Sport

So the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade looks like a dud

Upon hearing the news of any trade, the first reaction is to think about which team won the trade initially. In the NBA court of public opinion, that distinction usually goes to the side that obtains the more prominent name or superstar player. With Ben Simmons (and others) being traded for James Harden, it depends […]

Sport

Sixers fans, gird your loins for Harden time

Before Sixers fans could even breathe a sigh of relief over the possibility of going to a Game 7 despite a 3-0 lead, they’re gasping for air upon hearing the news that Joel Embiid is out indefinitely with a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion. The injury, courtesy of an elbow from Pascal Siakam […]

Sport

Is it finally winning time for Philadelphia?

On Saturday, the 76ers began the postseason by breezing past the Toronto Raptors with a ho-hum 131-111 drubbing. The 2022 playoffs is a significant crucible for Philadelphia. The legacy of The Process is at stake. If HBO ever decides to expand its foray into NBA biopics beyond the Showtime Lakers’ Winning Time, a… Read more…

Sport

Civil servant Kyrie Irving probably shouldn’t Google ‘Nets owner-China ties’

Two of the people not quoted in ESPN’s nearly flawless piece about Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai’s problematic ties to China — including a business under the umbrella of his company developing facial recognition software that may or may not have been equipped with an “Uyghur alarm” to alert police of a person that the… […]

Sport

James Harden says he’s finally found a ‘home’ in Philadelphia — give me a break

James Harden made his much-anticipated home debut for Philadelphia on Wednesday in a win over the hapless Knicks. He delivered a casual 26, 9 and 9, and could be seen smiling and giggling like a sociopath who just stepped on a couple children to get to the front of the ice cream line. Read more…

Sport

James Harden expects us to believe he had no choice in going to the Nets last year

So, apparently, James Harden didn’t pick and choose his trade destination in the deal that sent him to the Brooklyn Nets last January. If you’d asked most people, including those in the media, about how that trade went down, most would undoubtedly have told you that Harden chose to play with old OKC buddy Kevin […]

Sport

The Phoenix Suns are going bankrupt in the attention economy

Chis Paul is the NBA’s Copernicus. He needs to be the offensive axis, and his arrival placed the Suns near the center of the NBA galaxy. The Western Conference’s heliocentric age began, and we didn’t even know it because everyone has been so eager to babble about the particular Lakers, Nets, Sixers, and Warriors. Read […]

Sport

NBA steals the spotlight from Super Bowl week with blockbuster James Harden for Ben Simmons trade

Wow. So, the trade that felt like it would never happen finally went down. The Brooklyn Nets have agreed to send James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Read more…