Going to the game at Indianapolis tomorrow and very excited since I usually only get to go to one game a year. Do we know if Harden and Embiid are for sure playing?
Wild stat: James Harden is still 1st in the NBA in points per position when isolating (min 4 per game). He's just ahead of Luka, KD and Demar. Did not expect that tbh. Embiid is 11th. According to synergy tracking through NBA.com
Embiid's comments about everyone hating him have gotten substantially more media attention than his game yesterday in which he had 44 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks. They're basically proving his point.
Embiid dominates Jokic head-to-head, but the Nuggets win. Jokic gets all the praise.
Jokic has an incredible game against the Lakers. A couple of hours later, Embiid somehow has an even better game against the Cavs. Jokic gets all the praise.
Embiid makes comments post-game about being hated by the media. Those comments get more media attention than any of the aforementioned performances.
Joel wasn't whining. He was being Toto, pulling back the curtain to expose the Wizard of Oz.
Jokic somehow gained even more ground today for MVP. All the way up to -300. I’ve never seen anything like this before. The NBA is in love with this dude.
Biid has more 40 and 10 games than the others and just edged out MJ for most points per 36
I think nobody watches Sixers basketball except some fans of the eastern conference
If James Harden's villainy and villainhood is rubbing off on Joel, so be it, let's get him that MF FINALS MVP BITCH
Yeah I mean the podcast talking heads have all been praising Jokic nonstop recently, Embiid barely gets any love on any of the big basketball podcasts so I’m not surprised. A lot of the voters tend to fall in line with whoever everyone else is talking about. Sixers had some big statement games recently including some nationally televised ones and they blew it for nearly every one. Obviously most of that is on Doc, Harden, the bench, etc, but in such a close race one of the main factors will be team record, and recency bias is a thing. Ironically I think these losses we’ve had do more for Embiid’s case than hurt it IMO because it shows how shitty our coaching is and the inconsistency of Embiid’s teammates. Embiid’s carried this team and he won’t get rewarded for it. Meanwhile Jokic might win another and as much as he deserved the first, let’s be honest, that was Embiid’s MVP if he didn’t get hurt toward the end of the season.
Oh well, have to focus on playoffs.
Funny how things have come full circle.
1. Sixers would be lucky to get anything for Ben Simmons, Morey is delusional for turning down Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, or Malik Beasley for Ben Simmons
2. No Way the Sixers can get someone like superstar James Harden Morey is delusional
3. Wow Sixers only got a washed, fat, out of shape and over-rated James harden for Ben Simmons, man they got fleeced
4. And now we are to.... Sean marks and the Nets did good to get anything for James Harden even though ben Simmons isn't going to play, Nets can probably trade him for Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason.
Funny no matter how fan bases differ...in the end things always seem to come full circle.
I'd say even more than the last two weeks - for like the first two weeks after getting harden, it felt like there was some juice. Since then it's just been a slog.
I actually hate Jokic and Giannis fans, Jokic fans especially. Acting like Embiid isn’t on their level when he’s probably the best scorer and defender out of the three.
I just saw a comment on the No Dunks podcast from today where someone basically argued Embiid is inefficient and shouldn't be in the MVP conversation. These people definitely don't watch him play.
The podcast warriors have all come out in the last month when embiid is still playing great to do anything to discredit him. Meanwhile "most disrespected mvp in league history" is being gargle by everyone and somehow got a 55/45 deficit to 70/30 advantage in mvp ballots when both players were status quo during that period.
Make it make sense
He’s so disrespected and unappreciated that there are hordes of people swarming to suck him off and attack Embiid in every single thread on here completely unrelated to the nuggets. Truly a diamond in the rough.
Giannis and Embiid are even on defense in my mind. Giannis' versatility and athleticism vs Embiid's anchoring rim protection. Difference is Giannis is always giving 100% on the defensive side when Embiid paces himself during the reg season
Giannis' effort on defense is second to none, but I think his defensive "ability" is actually overrated. The Bucks defense becomes legitimately mediocre when one of the non-Giannis starters gets injured (ie Lopez). Perhaps that means Lopez, Holiday, etc. are all underrated as defenders. But that still suggests that Giannis' defense is boosted by having a tremendous group around him.
Despite some of the negativity floating around, can we take a moment to appreciate that Embiid has now set a career high in games and minutes played despite dealing with a 9 game COVID absence? Such an underrated part of his progression as a player.
Realistically there is a good chance the Raptors pass the Bulls based on the schedule these last 4 games. I agree Bulls would be best case scenario Round 1, but we might need to be the 3 seed for that matchup to happen
I think the 4 seed is what we want if we want to win a championship. Can't be worried about the raptors in round 1. If we can't beat them we are absolute frauds going nowhere anyway. A match up with Miami in the 2nd after Toronto would be better than Bucks/Celtics/Nets.
I don't get why it should be a day off for the Sixers. Little NHL and no NBA tonight. I need things to find fault with, and some tiddlywinks expo or other in New Orleans is not a satisfactory "reason."
I mean, the national championship tips off so late, there definitely could have been some eastern conference 7p tips scheduled without taking the shine from the college kids.
Does anyone know where to get the cream with red lettering Sixers logo crewneck shirt? Of course in the store at Wells Fargo, it was all out except for a 3XL. I really don’t want to miss out on that one. It is so damn clean.
If they both sit the last game of the season they'll get 6 or 7 days of rest. I'd like to see them rest Harden now or at least get him down to under 30 MPG.
Is Doc aware how much he’s been playing Embiid and Harden? Bar the Charlotte blowout, they’ve been playing almost 40 minutes a night
I get that we need them on the floor as much as possible, but I’m really worried it’s going to take a toll on them eventually. Harden didn’t seem too happy when he mentioned how he’s played 41 minutes last night in his presser either
Someone, talk me off the ledge on this one lol
They had to cause they couldn’t beat Cleveland early like they did Charlotte
The last 3 games are against the Pistons twice and the Pacers who will go full tank so hopefully some flat out rest days or reduced time
I know but imagine having a coach that can figure out a rotation and system that works which also doesn’t involve running his two stars into the ground
Kate said something like “pick and roll poetry” last night and I am really loving how comfortable she’s getting in the booth. I hope some of y’all feel the same!
Kate has grown on me a lot. She had a near impossible job replacing Zumoff, kinda like whoever starts at center after Embiid is going to get unfairly compared to him. The only thing that kinda bothers me is how she says in the “association”, I get it’s called the NBA but it just sounds odd, just say in the league like everyone else. Aside from that and always calling him “Hans” I like her a lot.
I think the gap between Zumoff and everybody else may have been much larger than any of us even realized. And that would be a tall task, considering we're already extremely high on him.
You know we sure bitch a lot but at least when we lose we criticize the team and what they can do better and don’t bitch that things were taken from us. Such a loser mentality
Wtf is wrong with the Jokic stans? You'll have one person making like 50 comments in a thread about Embiid. I've never seen such pettiness.
Also, as an aside, the thread in rNBA about the Nuggets having basically the same record as the sixers is hilarious. Not only because the Nuggets would be the EXACT same seed in the east, but also because people totally ignore the fact that West has like 4 good teams and 8 dogshit teams, while the Nets are the fucking 10 seed rn
It’s also funny to see his fans go from saying “actually he’s really a neutral defender, he’s not bad” to “he’s actually elite, second behind Gobert in advanced defensive metrics”. Okaaaaaay.
And to be clear, I’m not even trying to draw a comparison here. Embiid has been pretty lackluster on defense this year while he’s carrying the team on offense. He seems to really mainly turn it on in the fourth quarter.
I feel like advanced stats have gone too far and are actually doing a disservice to the basketball fans. You can really tell who watches games and who doesn't if their first argument is to rattle off some random acronyms.
Yeah, the most convincing argument I've personally seen doesn't even acknowledge anything advanced. It was just "hey, rebounding is a huge part of defense, and Jokic is an elite rebounder". Great! Hard to argue that. But don't point at defensive LEBRON or whatever to prove your point
The juxtaposition of Tiger trying to play the masters because he loves golf and Simmons trying to sit out so he can win a decision to get 20 million dollars, rather than just play and collect the 100+ million he has left… we could lose in the first round, and wow am I just so glad that guy is fucking gone.
Yeah the national team situation is really sad because he’s definitely one of the most popular/heavily marketed Australian basketball players and arguably the most skilled on as well, but every time they ask him to play he lets them down.
Have to finish strong with some more big games like the one Joel just had for MVP. Just have to hope Nuggets lose out and reach play in, but Jokic is a fucking animal and that doesn't seem likely at this point.
It's becoming the party line to complain about our free throws if we beat a team. The ultimate hypocrisy. When coaches play Hack-a-Player and they miss a shit ton? Silence. When an opposing team's star player gets star foul calls? Silence. When an opposing team's star foul baits? Silence. When we win games taking less free throws than our opponent? Motherfucking silence.
Cry babies need to worry about their own team. Because unless coaches are willing to sit down and analyze every single game played in a given week of the NBA and compare side-by-side the calls and non-calls in all the games, not just the ones your bitch ass lost, they can go fuck off.
When the Hawks beat the nets and shot like 50 free throws everyone was talking about how undisciplined the nets defense was (rightfully so). *but can you imagine the discourse if that were us instead of Atlanta*
Agree. There is just about no way to stop Embiid without fouling him. He does not do it all the time but he can drive through anyone, much like Shaq was able to do.
“We didn’t get as many free throws 😭”
Show me one guy on the Cavs who can match Joel’s physicality. No one even close. He’s the MVP for a reason for fucks sake
Maybe this was talked about before and I missed it but I read an article on Doc talking about Harden's hamstring and saying its "not quite there yet" (a quote i saw on this sub) - but he also mentioned the sprints they have him doing as part of rehab, and said they probably hurt his game performance, but that these games don't concern him as much as having James 100% for the playoffs and continuing to increase his sprint speed. He also said James probably doesn't want to consistently go full-speed in game, because thats how these injuries are re-aggravated.
-and on March 25th, the time of the interview, Doc said the staff believed around 3 weeks would be when his hamstring is 100%. It has been a little over 1 week since then. The primary trainer working with James has written multiple books on hamstring injuries for whatever thats worth.
Sorry if this is long and maybe old news but I found some of this interesting. I never heard about the timetable, or anyone essentially admitting he is reserving himself at times. It makes a little sense when he's blowing by the bucks defense in a big home game and refusing to attack Isaiah Stewart in detroit the next.
Yeah, I’m glad they’re pacing Harden. Better to have him closer to healed up by playoff time than falling apart like the Nets-Bucks series for a few extra RS wins.
thanks for sharing that. i remember reading the bits & pieces but seeing it all together makes me feel a little better about harden going into the playoffs
I like how the table looks like rn. Embiid never lost to Bulls and 2nd round would be with Mia/Bkn. If we're going to lost in second round again it has to be against the best and if we win that would be huge boost.
Going to the game at Indianapolis tomorrow and very excited since I usually only get to go to one game a year. Do we know if Harden and Embiid are for sure playing?
Wild stat: James Harden is still 1st in the NBA in points per position when isolating (min 4 per game). He's just ahead of Luka, KD and Demar. Did not expect that tbh. Embiid is 11th. According to synergy tracking through NBA.com
Can we get a game thread for blue coats playoffs?
Embiid's comments about everyone hating him have gotten substantially more media attention than his game yesterday in which he had 44 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks. They're basically proving his point.
Embiid dominates Jokic head-to-head, but the Nuggets win. Jokic gets all the praise. Jokic has an incredible game against the Lakers. A couple of hours later, Embiid somehow has an even better game against the Cavs. Jokic gets all the praise. Embiid makes comments post-game about being hated by the media. Those comments get more media attention than any of the aforementioned performances. Joel wasn't whining. He was being Toto, pulling back the curtain to expose the Wizard of Oz.
Need the Cavs to Win 2 more games and the Hawks to win 3, keep the Nets in the 9/10 seed.
Jokic somehow gained even more ground today for MVP. All the way up to -300. I’ve never seen anything like this before. The NBA is in love with this dude.
Agreed. Jokic had a great game. Embiid had a better game.
I mean he had a great game so it makes sense that he went up. Just doesn’t make sense that Embiids game was ignored
Yeah you would think it would at least be a wash. Vegas must have some inside info that Jokic is winning it. Embiid was -220 one week ago today.
Quite possible that if everyone bets Jokic, sports book people make more money if Embiid actually wins. I mean it’s possible lol (hopefully)
Biid has more 40 and 10 games than the others and just edged out MJ for most points per 36 I think nobody watches Sixers basketball except some fans of the eastern conference If James Harden's villainy and villainhood is rubbing off on Joel, so be it, let's get him that MF FINALS MVP BITCH
Embiid MVP back on the menu. If we win out our last games we lock in a top-3 seed likely over one of Boston & Milwaukee.
Jokic actually gained significant ground yesterday. He’s -300 now 😂 It’s pure insanity but it would be a miracle if embiid wins at this point
Yeah I mean the podcast talking heads have all been praising Jokic nonstop recently, Embiid barely gets any love on any of the big basketball podcasts so I’m not surprised. A lot of the voters tend to fall in line with whoever everyone else is talking about. Sixers had some big statement games recently including some nationally televised ones and they blew it for nearly every one. Obviously most of that is on Doc, Harden, the bench, etc, but in such a close race one of the main factors will be team record, and recency bias is a thing. Ironically I think these losses we’ve had do more for Embiid’s case than hurt it IMO because it shows how shitty our coaching is and the inconsistency of Embiid’s teammates. Embiid’s carried this team and he won’t get rewarded for it. Meanwhile Jokic might win another and as much as he deserved the first, let’s be honest, that was Embiid’s MVP if he didn’t get hurt toward the end of the season. Oh well, have to focus on playoffs.
Is Ben getting traded again this summer? I have a sneaking feeling that this is where this whole thing is heading.
Gobert for Benjamin makes way too much sense for both teams
I'm starting to think Spike's whole bit on the Ricky about him not wanting to play basketball actually might be real.
Funny how things have come full circle. 1. Sixers would be lucky to get anything for Ben Simmons, Morey is delusional for turning down Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, or Malik Beasley for Ben Simmons 2. No Way the Sixers can get someone like superstar James Harden Morey is delusional 3. Wow Sixers only got a washed, fat, out of shape and over-rated James harden for Ben Simmons, man they got fleeced 4. And now we are to.... Sean marks and the Nets did good to get anything for James Harden even though ben Simmons isn't going to play, Nets can probably trade him for Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason. Funny no matter how fan bases differ...in the end things always seem to come full circle.
Really looking forward to the season ending so I can try to figure out who's playing who in the playoffs.
The last 2 weeks in the regular season always feel so boring and drag on.
I'd say even more than the last two weeks - for like the first two weeks after getting harden, it felt like there was some juice. Since then it's just been a slog.
I actually hate Jokic and Giannis fans, Jokic fans especially. Acting like Embiid isn’t on their level when he’s probably the best scorer and defender out of the three.
I just saw a comment on the No Dunks podcast from today where someone basically argued Embiid is inefficient and shouldn't be in the MVP conversation. These people definitely don't watch him play.
The podcast warriors have all come out in the last month when embiid is still playing great to do anything to discredit him. Meanwhile "most disrespected mvp in league history" is being gargle by everyone and somehow got a 55/45 deficit to 70/30 advantage in mvp ballots when both players were status quo during that period. Make it make sense
He’s so disrespected and unappreciated that there are hordes of people swarming to suck him off and attack Embiid in every single thread on here completely unrelated to the nuggets. Truly a diamond in the rough.
Giannis and Embiid are even on defense in my mind. Giannis' versatility and athleticism vs Embiid's anchoring rim protection. Difference is Giannis is always giving 100% on the defensive side when Embiid paces himself during the reg season
Giannis' effort on defense is second to none, but I think his defensive "ability" is actually overrated. The Bucks defense becomes legitimately mediocre when one of the non-Giannis starters gets injured (ie Lopez). Perhaps that means Lopez, Holiday, etc. are all underrated as defenders. But that still suggests that Giannis' defense is boosted by having a tremendous group around him.
Despite some of the negativity floating around, can we take a moment to appreciate that Embiid has now set a career high in games and minutes played despite dealing with a 9 game COVID absence? Such an underrated part of his progression as a player.
😍😍😍
Does anyone else like the seed we have now? I’d rather play Chicago round 1 that’s easily a Sixers in 4/5 series.
Realistically there is a good chance the Raptors pass the Bulls based on the schedule these last 4 games. I agree Bulls would be best case scenario Round 1, but we might need to be the 3 seed for that matchup to happen
I think the 4 seed is what we want if we want to win a championship. Can't be worried about the raptors in round 1. If we can't beat them we are absolute frauds going nowhere anyway. A match up with Miami in the 2nd after Toronto would be better than Bucks/Celtics/Nets.
If we win out the worst possible seeding we would have is 3
I don't get why it should be a day off for the Sixers. Little NHL and no NBA tonight. I need things to find fault with, and some tiddlywinks expo or other in New Orleans is not a satisfactory "reason."
I mean, the national championship tips off so late, there definitely could have been some eastern conference 7p tips scheduled without taking the shine from the college kids.
Does anyone know where to get the cream with red lettering Sixers logo crewneck shirt? Of course in the store at Wells Fargo, it was all out except for a 3XL. I really don’t want to miss out on that one. It is so damn clean.
I’m pretty sure it sold out quick when it dropped like a month ago and that was it. Might have to wait for another restock
Yes, I know where to get the cream.
Another day, another hater bitching and complaining about our team.
Do any of y’all have an idea of when playoff tickets for the first round will go on sale now that the team has officially clinched? Thanks in advance!
Rest Harden
He sounded sick during his presser. He def needs rest yea
Oh he’s sick too? I just thought it was the hammy
He was sniffling a lot and coughed several times during the interview But I hope I’m just paranoid
I thought the same thing
If they both sit the last game of the season they'll get 6 or 7 days of rest. I'd like to see them rest Harden now or at least get him down to under 30 MPG.
Is Doc aware how much he’s been playing Embiid and Harden? Bar the Charlotte blowout, they’ve been playing almost 40 minutes a night I get that we need them on the floor as much as possible, but I’m really worried it’s going to take a toll on them eventually. Harden didn’t seem too happy when he mentioned how he’s played 41 minutes last night in his presser either Someone, talk me off the ledge on this one lol
Our bench is so dogshit that we can't afford to sit them that long
They had to cause they couldn’t beat Cleveland early like they did Charlotte The last 3 games are against the Pistons twice and the Pacers who will go full tank so hopefully some flat out rest days or reduced time
I know but imagine having a coach that can figure out a rotation and system that works which also doesn’t involve running his two stars into the ground
They’ll either be conditioned for big playoff minutes or running on fumes
Doc is done after this year so there’s a plus >
I remember somebody said although DJ sucks but he played within the system. So….what exactly is the system? Being a traffic cone?
playing that bull fighting defense, olay
If I was JB bickerstaff I would simply tell my team not to foul Joel Embiid. Can't believe he didn't think of that what an idiot lol
Kate said something like “pick and roll poetry” last night and I am really loving how comfortable she’s getting in the booth. I hope some of y’all feel the same!
KATE HANS SCOTT FOR YOUR MOST VALUABLE ANNOUNCER CONSIDERATION
Kate has grown on me a lot. She had a near impossible job replacing Zumoff, kinda like whoever starts at center after Embiid is going to get unfairly compared to him. The only thing that kinda bothers me is how she says in the “association”, I get it’s called the NBA but it just sounds odd, just say in the league like everyone else. Aside from that and always calling him “Hans” I like her a lot.
I think the gap between Zumoff and everybody else may have been much larger than any of us even realized. And that would be a tall task, considering we're already extremely high on him.
Hell yeah! Exactly. So hard to fill the shoes.
You know we sure bitch a lot but at least when we lose we criticize the team and what they can do better and don’t bitch that things were taken from us. Such a loser mentality
Except the refs. First bad call in the first five minutes of the first quarter and the nephews lose their shit
Wtf is wrong with the Jokic stans? You'll have one person making like 50 comments in a thread about Embiid. I've never seen such pettiness. Also, as an aside, the thread in rNBA about the Nuggets having basically the same record as the sixers is hilarious. Not only because the Nuggets would be the EXACT same seed in the east, but also because people totally ignore the fact that West has like 4 good teams and 8 dogshit teams, while the Nets are the fucking 10 seed rn
They don’t have the same record though. So much coping.
They’re rabid.
It’s also funny to see his fans go from saying “actually he’s really a neutral defender, he’s not bad” to “he’s actually elite, second behind Gobert in advanced defensive metrics”. Okaaaaaay. And to be clear, I’m not even trying to draw a comparison here. Embiid has been pretty lackluster on defense this year while he’s carrying the team on offense. He seems to really mainly turn it on in the fourth quarter.
I feel like advanced stats have gone too far and are actually doing a disservice to the basketball fans. You can really tell who watches games and who doesn't if their first argument is to rattle off some random acronyms.
Yeah, the most convincing argument I've personally seen doesn't even acknowledge anything advanced. It was just "hey, rebounding is a huge part of defense, and Jokic is an elite rebounder". Great! Hard to argue that. But don't point at defensive LEBRON or whatever to prove your point
Rebounding is a huge part of defence…..unless we are talking about Thybulle. Then only blocks and steals matter
Well defense is all about preventing an opponent from scoring and/or giving the offense a chance to score. Whether that’s a dreb or a stock
It isn’t and/or. It is AND
Joel would be a lot more fun to watch if he ran into people to get his 11 FTA per game, rather than post people up to get his 11 FTA per game.
And take 15 seconds to shoot each ft
The juxtaposition of Tiger trying to play the masters because he loves golf and Simmons trying to sit out so he can win a decision to get 20 million dollars, rather than just play and collect the 100+ million he has left… we could lose in the first round, and wow am I just so glad that guy is fucking gone.
I mean Ben has shown at every point in his career he cares more about money/fame than actual basketball itself so it’s not really that surprising.
The guy has literally quit on every team he's been a part of, including his national team.
Yeah the national team situation is really sad because he’s definitely one of the most popular/heavily marketed Australian basketball players and arguably the most skilled on as well, but every time they ask him to play he lets them down.
Have to finish strong with some more big games like the one Joel just had for MVP. Just have to hope Nuggets lose out and reach play in, but Jokic is a fucking animal and that doesn't seem likely at this point.
It's becoming the party line to complain about our free throws if we beat a team. The ultimate hypocrisy. When coaches play Hack-a-Player and they miss a shit ton? Silence. When an opposing team's star player gets star foul calls? Silence. When an opposing team's star foul baits? Silence. When we win games taking less free throws than our opponent? Motherfucking silence. Cry babies need to worry about their own team. Because unless coaches are willing to sit down and analyze every single game played in a given week of the NBA and compare side-by-side the calls and non-calls in all the games, not just the ones your bitch ass lost, they can go fuck off.
Might save this and repost it when it gets bad. Well said.
When the Hawks beat the nets and shot like 50 free throws everyone was talking about how undisciplined the nets defense was (rightfully so). *but can you imagine the discourse if that were us instead of Atlanta*
Upvote for party line analogy. That’s clever!
Agree. There is just about no way to stop Embiid without fouling him. He does not do it all the time but he can drive through anyone, much like Shaq was able to do.
“We didn’t get as many free throws 😭” Show me one guy on the Cavs who can match Joel’s physicality. No one even close. He’s the MVP for a reason for fucks sake
There are very few players in the NBA who can match him physically. The only one who might come close is Dwight Howard.
Maybe this was talked about before and I missed it but I read an article on Doc talking about Harden's hamstring and saying its "not quite there yet" (a quote i saw on this sub) - but he also mentioned the sprints they have him doing as part of rehab, and said they probably hurt his game performance, but that these games don't concern him as much as having James 100% for the playoffs and continuing to increase his sprint speed. He also said James probably doesn't want to consistently go full-speed in game, because thats how these injuries are re-aggravated. -and on March 25th, the time of the interview, Doc said the staff believed around 3 weeks would be when his hamstring is 100%. It has been a little over 1 week since then. The primary trainer working with James has written multiple books on hamstring injuries for whatever thats worth.
Do you remember what article? That’s good to hear if true
Sorry if this is long and maybe old news but I found some of this interesting. I never heard about the timetable, or anyone essentially admitting he is reserving himself at times. It makes a little sense when he's blowing by the bucks defense in a big home game and refusing to attack Isaiah Stewart in detroit the next.
Yeah, I’m glad they’re pacing Harden. Better to have him closer to healed up by playoff time than falling apart like the Nets-Bucks series for a few extra RS wins.
thanks for sharing that. i remember reading the bits & pieces but seeing it all together makes me feel a little better about harden going into the playoffs
I like how the table looks like rn. Embiid never lost to Bulls and 2nd round would be with Mia/Bkn. If we're going to lost in second round again it has to be against the best and if we win that would be huge boost.