Imagine if the Rockets path to the Conference Finals was the Heat followed by the Bucks-or- Celtics without Kyrie.
They made their push after the commentator said Colangelo "orchestrated The Process". The Ghost of Sam Hinkie thirsts for blood.
I'm glad it isn't because the Rockets can't stand prosperity. I'm glad they lost game 3 and struggled the 1st half of game 4. It finally woke them up from a two week nap.
That was wack! I have a coworker from Philly and he says that all of the fans there give Hinkie credit for the turnover. Tip of the cap to Colangelo for some moves (like signing Reddick) but the draft picks (including Simmons since that was too obvious of a pick) all go to Sam Hinkie.
Awesome! Sixers can play that defense and have a great offense in my opinion, love to watch them. How Dragic did not get a flagrant on that slap to the back of the head of Simmons is baffling, since any head contact is pretty much flagrant 99.9% of the time nowadays..suck it Heat.
Really happy for Brett Brown seeing the celebrations and how they had him ring the bell in the locker room. He totally deserves this and all the success that the Sixers have in front of him. He coached through all the 'process' years and stuck to it. People will say the Sixers exploited the system, but they didnt really that much I feel. Hinkie basically traded away any decent veterans they had and had Brown play a bunch of rookies and guys who probably got called up from the D-League a bit early. As a result though Brown was able to coach and majority of the time the Sixers didn't lose games because they were trying to it was basically because they just had less talent than the other team. Guys grew into their success as role players like TJ and Covington as a result. Now with Embiid and Simmons healthy (and hopefully Fultz soon) they are ready to be a force in the East. The big thing that Hinkie brought was patience and 'trust'. No one wanted to draft Noel or Embid because of their injury concerns. Noel sat out his rookie season, Embid his first two years, Simmons his rookie season and Fultz basically his. Outside of Fultz the others had legitimate injuries and they were extra cautious. I think thats what the Sixers fans rallied around despite those super bad Sixers teams. Those teams competed and its hard to root against a team that tries really hard. Now mix in that culture with generational talents in Simmons and Embid and you have a potential dynasty on your hands (barring injuries). I am happy for Brett Brown and I am happy for Sixers fans. It would be great to see them in Finals against Rockets
Tyler Johnson underwent successful surgery this morning to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. TJ will be in a cast for 6 weeks and is expected to make a full recovery. Riley says he will make the team better: "We're not going to stop. It doesn't matter how you do it, whether you are a room team or [capped out]... How we're going to do it is irrelevant." Riley said the challenge is "going outside and looking around to find a transformative player maybe." Because so many teams want to improve, Riley said: "That's why this is a wonderful time and an open market. Of Zo trade: "There are more of those out there. I'm not saying that's going to happen this year." Riley on fans wanting more, "We'll give 'em more." Riley, "I'm not happy. I wasn't happy with the ending." Riley: "I'm not happy. I also wasn't overwhelmed by our 30-11 finish last year. That planted some seeds in my head about those guys that played during that time." Riley believes the Sixers series would have gone 7 games if Heat had won Game 4 Riley: "I'm not going to break this team up. We're going to make this team better." Riley said he does not buy there was a disconnect between Spoelstra and Whiteside but said, 'There has to be an intervention' Riley, asked about Whiteside/Spo relationship: "There has been to be an intervention. I am going to be the interveener... There's no doubt he was in a bad state in the playoffs. I'm not going to give him any kind of excuse [but] the season started with an injury." But Riley said he doesn't believe there was disconnect between Spoelstra and Whiteside but said "that will take a discussion between them." Riley on Whiteside: 'There is not doubt he was in a bad place in the playoffs. He wasn't ready, he wasn't in great shape.' Added he is not going to give him any excuses Riley: "I have the same problem with Hassan. He's going to have to do something to change because he's a hell of a player." (Spoke of way centers are asked to play in today's NBA) "How can he make himself effective?" Riley on Hassan: "He had a bad year this year." Riley: 'To do the things he needs to do, defensive, rebounding, shot blocking .. he had a bad year this year.' Said Whiteside has to help himself Riley on Spoelstra and Whiteside, "I'm going to try to help the both of them come together." Riley: "We have too many good to great players. We have 11 or 12 guys." Said this is a problem in some respects. Riley, on Spoelstra playing Whiteside limited minutes in postseason: "I would have taken him out of the game, too, the way he was performing." Riley talked to Wade on Friday. Said they didn't talk about retirement. 'I don't like to talk to a player about retirement because if you talk to a player about retirement, guess what? The retire.' Believes he "still has it" to play. Riley said will have that discussion with Wade in about a month Riley on Ellington: 'there's no doubt we want him back. .. He is pure Heat.'' Said if signing Wayne puts Heat over tax "that guy (Andy Elisburg) has 15 months to get us out." Riley, on free agent Wayne Ellington: "You definitely are going to prioritize [keeping] him." Riley said he is not sure teams with max money are going to spend it all. 'Teams are getting much smarter' Riley said Heat do not have a Plan A or Plan B just yet as he did a year ago this time. Riley said no one on roster is untouchable. But "our core guys we would like to keep together and would like to add something to it. That is going to be a challenge. Riley was asked if he has given any thought to retiring. 'No. I haven't.' Riley: 'There is always something that brings you back in, there's something that sucks you back in. You could tell yourself in Sept. this is my last year but something happens that sucks you back in. I'm an active participant and I'm going to stay that way.' Riley on the draft: 'To be really honest with you, I'm not a draft pick guy. You know that.' But talks about adding players after July 1 Riley said he believes having a pick every other year is enough. Heat have their pick in 2019 Riley: We are a playoff team but it's not good enough just to be a playoff team. Making the playoffs is not a badge of honor Riley: 'I love out core guys and I still believe Hassan can anchor despite what others believe.' Said this team if they did nothing is a playoff team but 'we're not going to do nothing.' Riley: 'I dont care what Ilyasova said' we have the greatest fans in the world, 'they sip a little more wine before the game'
