![]() Sources: Philadelphia 76ers to hire Nick Nurse as head coach That was Huerter tonight, and since he'll become extension-eligible after the season, that game couldn't have come at a better time.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser It's not always as glaring as it was for Huerter, but these games almost always come down to one role player having the game of his life. Pat Connaughton made three 3-pointers and the Bucks won his minutes by 10 points. Remember, the Nets didn't get a single bench point in their loss to the Bucks on Saturday. He even helped get Seth Curry into foul trouble, and in that sense, is responsible for the 76ers playing 17 full minutes without, yes, I'm going to say this, their second-best player. He drew the biggest foul of the night and pulled down seven rebounds. So naturally, Huerter went out and shot 10-of-18 from the field in the biggest game of his career. If any Hawk was going to score 27 points tonight, Young was the obvious candidate. This time of year tends to belong to a different sort of player. Sharpshooters like Huerter have been dropping left and right lately (go cringe at Joe Harris' numbers against the Bucks). They say role players are better at home in the postseason. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and that's not overwhelmingly surprising. When Kevin Huerter last played in Philadelphia in Game 5, he scored zero points. But he still found ways to impact the game enough to carry the Hawks to the finish line. He had nothing to prove as a massive underdog in Game 7. Young averaged over 30 points in the first six games of this series. That's an unrealistic expectation for 95 percent of the league, and especially players as small as Young. There is an unrealistic expectation among fans that superstars need to do what Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo did in their Game 7 duel on Saturday: score 40 or more points, make every single play and thrive on both ends of the floor. ICE TRAE HEATING UP □ /esOkhnS4Qh- Bleacher Report June 21, 2021 And when the Hawks needed him to finish things off, he delivered with some of the biggest plays of the night. He never tired, creating good shots for his team for four full quarters. He excelled as a passer, dishing out 10 huge assists that often amounted to easy lob points for his big men. ![]() He got to the line, attempting 11 free throws. He did exactly what a superstar needs to do when his shots aren't falling in an elimination game. Trae Young shot 5-of-23 from the floor… and was the best player in this game. ![]() ![]() It's time to break that duo up, and with the way Simmons played against Atlanta, he's the one that needs to go. That they managed to still lose this series should be a referendum on the idea that Simmons and Joel Embiid can win a championship together. Philadelphia led Game 4 by 18 points and Game 5 by 26. That team was without two important young players in De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish. 1 seed playing against a team with almost no playoff experience. We'll probably learn the answers to those questions in the coming months and years. Maybe he needs more shooting around him, or a less ball-dominant center, or the right coach, or simply a change of scenery. Maybe Simmons can be salvaged on another team. When Doc Rivers was asked if he thought Simmons could be the point guard on a championship team, he responded "I don't know the answer to that right now." Now, after Game 7, the 76ers are unsure of what the future holds for their former No. Negotiations for James Harden went down to the wire. They had Jimmy Butler on the roster and apparently preferred Simmons. It's hard not to think of all of the different opportunities Philadelphia has had to replace Simmons as their primary ball-handler. More distressingly, he took only three shots in the fourth quarter in seven games against the Hawks. He attempted only four shots in this game and 45 in the series. But Matisse Thybulle missed one of the free throws generated by that poor decision. Whether it was a fear of being fouled and having to take free throws or simply a poor decision, we can't say. 4JyM7ZHNkJ- Bleacher Report June 21, 2021
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