data-mm-id=”_arogqg0kq”>The Philadelphia 76ers are in trouble. Ben Simmons is out for an "extended" period of time. He will be reevaluated in two weeks, but no one expects him to be anywhere near ready to play in two weeks. Joel Embiid sprained his shoulder on Wednesday night and is still being evaluated. The good news and the bad news are the same thing. The Sixers are currently the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game behind the Miami Heat. The Celtics and Raptors are too far ahead for a healthy, cohesive version of the Sixers to catch up and the Nets and Magic are too far behind for Philadelphia to end up in a bottom seed in the darkest of timelines.Philadelphia has the third-easiest strength of schedule remaining. The Heat and Pacers have slightly tougher remaining schedules. No matter what happens, Philadelphia will end up in a winnable first round series if Embiid is healthy. It will be tough against Toronto or Boston, but still possible. If Simmons comes back, the Sixers will have the talent to lose to the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. And that is their ceiling in perpetuity unless they make a change or Giannis Antetokounmpo goes to Golden State. Time and time again, it looks like the Sixers are going to have to choose between Embiid and Simmons. It seems impossible to build around both of them and they increasingly sound like a team without a plan. In an interview with Basketball Insiders, Glenn Robinson made it sound like his expected role still hasn't been explained to him three weeks after he was acquired: ““All those things play a role, and then when you come here and your role’s not really explained or you don’t know what’s going on with the trade — it’s not like it was a trade where you come in and immediately have an impact. It’s a little different, so… this team is full of wings, full of guys who can play. So really, I don’t really understand it. But it’s a business, you’ve got to make it happen and go out and try to do your best every night.””The Sixers were a high-functioning mess for the last couple seasons, but things aren't going as well now. They'll make the playoffs, but any title expectations from the start of the season are long gone. After two straight 50+ win seasons, they're headed in the wrong direction. Blame the front office. Blame Brett Brown. Blame the guy who can't stay on the court or the guy who refuses to shoot threes. The end result remains the same.
Related Posts
Barcelona will need to reduce their wage bill next term, says LaLiga president Javier Tebas, as the club do not have the income in order to match their pay packets.
The Blaugrana have famously been in financial turmoil over recent seasons, yet have been able to conduct high-priced transfer dealings through the activation of financial levers and risky strategies.
These have been born out of selling off crucial non-playing assets, helping to secure moves for Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha ahead of the new campaign amongst others.
But Tebas and league corporate general manager Javier Gomez say Xavi s team will need to cut their cloth, while defending the league s actions that have seen them seemingly over-accommodate the club s needs.
Barca have to reduce …
Lionel Messi believes the special duel between him and Cristiano Ronaldo when the pair were on opposite sides of the Clasico rivalry will leave a lasting impression.
The Barcelona superstar went head-to-head with Ronaldo for almost a decade in LaLiga, where the two scored at an astonishing rate and practically assumed shared custody of the Ballon d Or.
Debate rages over who the world s best player is, but a shortlist of two is almost universally accepted – it is either Messi or Ronaldo.
The Portugal forward has since departed for Juventus, but Messi – who won a record sixth Ballon d Or in December – has fond memories of their long-running Spanish saga.
35 s Lionel Messi has become the player with the most hat-tricks in history (35), surpa…
Best odds: 20/23
Bookmaker:
Round 33 of the Premier League season is being played from Tuesday to Thursday this week, and as its part, West Ham will welcome Liverpool to the London Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The two teams are fighting their respective battles to achieve different goals, which means every point won or dropped between now and the end of the season is likely to be of great consequence for both.
West Ham
The Hammers had a couple of excellent seasons, most notably the last two as they stood a decent chance of finishing inside the top four and eventually securing a place in Europe. Now, however, David Moyes team seems to have lost a big part of that drive and as the campaign approaches its finish, they haven t done enough to feel safe abou…
Ryan Mason has a Tottenham team willing to fight for their place in the upper echelons of the Premier League after a comeback draw with Manchester United.
Goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min helped the interim boss break the club s losing streak in the first game in charge after replacing Cristian Stellini
Mason is no stranger to the Spurs hot seat, having been caretaker following Jose Mourinho s exit two years ago, during which he was in charge for the EFL Cup final.
But after a 6-1 loss to Newcastle United last time out, Mason was delighted to get a response from his side that underlines their desire.
In football, you can win, lose or draw but the most important [thing] is that we react together, he told BT Sport. I have a team that s willing to f…
Real Madrid in fresh assault on De Gea
Champions League holders Real Madrid are stepping up their efforts to sign David De Gea from Manchester United, .
It is no secret that los Blancos are eager to lure the Spain international to Santiago Bernabeu and they are set to try and sign him in the next transfer window.
With long-serving keeper Iker Casillas nearing a summer exit, Real Madrid plan to recruit De Gea at the earliest opportunity.
The 24-year-old has proved his worth at Old Trafford, but his current contract is due to expire in June 2016.
And while the goalkeeper is open to extending his deal, his agents hope to include a €30 million release clause in any agreement, which is enough to suggest they are well aware of Real Madrid interest.
Inaki Williams does not see himself leaving Athletic Bilbao as he has big plans at the LaLiga outfit, despite reported interest from Liverpool.
Williams, 22, has emerged as a possible transfer target for Premier League title hopefuls Liverpool, with manager Jurgen Klopp an admirer.
But the Spanish forward, who earned his first international cap in May, has dismissed a move to Anfield, pledging his future to Athletic.
I m happy at Athletic, it s where I want to be, Williams told AS Diario.
I am very grateful to the fans, the club and my team-mates.
I want to continue here for many more years. I want to be Athletic s future number nine the player who raises the roof at San Mames every week and scores lot of goals.
Williams has been a rev…
Karim Benzema has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo s departure has allowed him to take on a different role in Real Madrid s attack.
The Frenchman has scored a goal every 1.7 games across all competitions in the two-and-a-half seasons since Ronaldo made a €100million switch to Juventus.
But in their nine campaigns together at the Santiago Bernabeu, Benzema was instead finding the back of the net once every 2.2 games.
And the 33-year-old has now acknowledged that he had to sacrifice certain parts of his game for Ronaldo s benefit not that he has any regrets over the matter.
Cristiano s departure allowed me to play a different role. He scored 50 goals every year and you had to adapt to his game, he told El Pais.
15 has scored at least 15 goals …
Jose Mourinho would consider introducing diving lessons for his Roma stars because he fears the only way they will win penalties is by playing the clown .
The head coach was red-carded in Sunday s 1-0 home defeat to Atalanta after wildly protesting when Nicolo Zaniolo went down in the 55th minute under a challenge from Caleb Okoli but did not get a penalty.
Mourinho was adamant his team deserved a spot-kick for that incident, and he also wanted one in the first half for another challenge on Zaniolo, when Merih Demiral appeared to foul the Roma forward.
Zaniolo stumbled on and got back to his feet after tangling with Demiral, and the referee s refusal to point to the spot on that occasion appeared to fuel Mourinho s later tirade.
By marching onto the pit…
Honduras have stormed to the top of Group B at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-0 victory over Haiti, who have yet to win in 2013.
Ronny Martinez and Marvin Chavez scored either side of half-time for Honduras as they ruined Haiti s return to Gold Cup competition, while in the other Group B match, El Salvador drew 2-2 with Trinidad and Tobago.
The win on Monday handed Honduras three points and top spot in Group B with El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago equal on one point, while Haiti were left bottom of the standings.
Haiti missed out on the 2011 Gold Cup, as they won just once in three qualification games held less than a year after the 2010 earthquake in the tiny Caribbean nation, but their return to the continental championships started badly and did not get any bette…
Prestatyn Town s dream maiden European campaign will continue in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Prestatyn qualified for continental competition for the first time in their history by winning the Welsh Cup in 2012-13, but were considered unlikely candidates to progress beyond the first round of qualification.
However, a shock win on penalties against SK Liepajas Metalurgs last week ensured their improbable journey would continue, with the club now preparing to meet Croatia s Rijeka.
And player-manager Neil Gibson, who scored the the second of two late goals in Latvia that forced spot-kicks, admits he can hardly believe his side s progress.
I ve just had a text five minutes ago from (Prestatyn defender) Dave Hayes asking me if it…