2019 Philadelphia 76ers | Forgotten NBA Teams

2019 Philadelphia 76ers | Forgotten NBA Teams

Recently, we made a video about Ben Simmons and the state of his career, how his career could be essentially over. And while editing that video, I got reminded of the 2019 76ers, a team that had championship hopes and just had an absolutely stacked starting five. Yeah, you got Joel Embiid, Jimmy, a rising star, and Ben Simmons, and then guys like Tobias Harris, JJ Reic. Unfortunately for them though, their season would end on one of the most unlucky bounces in sports history. Before [Music] [Music] we start talking about the 2019 Philadelphia 76ers, please give this video a like, subscribe to the channel, and hit the notification bell so you not miss out on any new videos. Real quick before we get into the video, just wanted to explain this series again because it’s been a while since we’ve done that. Basically, this series looks at teams that’ll be forgotten over time in the NBA. I’m sure if you’ve been watching the NBA long enough and you’re over the age of 12, you remember the 2019 76ers. It wasn’t that long ago. But as time passes, you know, decades down the line, this is going to be one of those teams that gets forgotten about because they weren’t like true championship contenders that made the finals or hell, even this case, made the conference finals. So, this series kind of just looks at some of those teams that will be forgotten overtime in the NBA. With that all being said, let’s get into how this 76ers team was built. The first key member we’ll talk about was Joel Embiid. He was drafted by Philly in the 2014 draft with the third overall pick. I’m sure most of you are aware of Embiid’s career story. Misses the first two seasons due to injury. He finally plays in 2017, looks really good, but only appears in 31 games. And then in 2018, he has a breakout season, 22.9 points a night, 11 rebounds, almost two blocks per game. He was an all-star for the first time. Made all NBA second team. He even finished his second defensive player of the year voting. So, the 76ers, they were hoping he could build off that breakout season in 2019. The other key member, Ben Simmons, we recently made a video on drafted first overall in 2016, seeing as you know, maybe the potential next LeBron, misses his entire first season with a broken foot, but he follows that up in 2018. Very promising rookie campaign. So, the 76ers with this young duo of Embiid and Ben Simmons, they were basically seen as the best young duo in basketball. I mean, you could make an argument for the Jays in Boston, but Embiid and Simmons, it looked like they had more potential. They were very good early on. You know, sky was the limit for these two. That’s how it was seen at the time. Yeah, absolutely. And you bring in another young piece like Markeel Folultz, you take him first overall in the 2017 draft. Now, unfortunately for Folultz, he would struggle a lot. His rookie season only played in 14 games and he just battled this like mystery shoulder injury that at the time it was kind of just like, did this guy get the yips? Did he just like forget how to like play basketball, like forget how to shoot, whatever? Cuz it was going through that whole thing where his form was weird, that he had a hitch in it. It was just really weird. Eventually, it was diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome. I don’t know what that is, but doesn’t sound very nice. So, you know, the Sixers had other guys like Robert Cumington, Dario Sarich, Jared Bis, who started his career with the Blazers, you know, got to get that mention in. TJ McConno, who’s now on the Pacers, and they were coached by Brett Brown who had basically been the coach the entire Trust the Process era. And during the 2018 season, the Sixers finally had their breakout year. won 52 games, made the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Took the Heat out in five in the first round, but then were beaten by the Celtics in five in the second round. And in the offseason, they had the 10th pick that originally belonged to the Lakers, and they used it to select Muel Bridges. Now, seemed like an absolute perfect fit because Mikuel’s mother actually worked for the Sixers at the time. He was born in Philly. He grew up in Pennsylvania, went to Villanova. So, we had like, you know, this Disney movie moment where the guy gets drafted by his hometown team and they sent his ass to Phoenix for Zier Smith in a future first they didn’t even get to use. They do somewhat make up for it. They take Landry Shamut with the 26 pick. In free agency, they resigned Jig Reddic to one-year deal. They trade for Wilson Chandler, sending out some cash in return, and they resigned Amir Johnson as well. So, a pretty quiet off season, but they would make some major moves during the actual 2019 season itself, and we’ll get into those here quick. Yeah. On to the 2019 season. The Sixers had a pretty mediocre start given how good they were in 2018. They were just four and four after their first eight games of the season. Embiid on an individual level was dominant early in the season, though. First 10 games, he averaged 29.6 points, 12.4 boards, and three and a half assists per game. But everything changed for this team when they acquired Jimmy Butler from the Timberwolves on November 12th in exchange for Jared Bis Ro Dario Sarich 2022 second round pick. Three role players and a second no firsts for Jimmy Butler. Neil O’Shea is never seeing heaven because how can you not beat that offer? Seriously. I mean it’s highway robbery. Like we know Jimmy’s reputation it was not in a good place with the whole Minnesota debacle. He was on an expiring deal, but getting him for three role players in a second is insane. Not even three good role players, dude. One good role player. Robert Covington. Like Bayis and Sarge this time were just like like minimum guys. I mean, Sarge was kind of seen as a young guy with potential. I think he was coming off like a 18 point season at 23, but but he was like a 75 and 2K. Exactly. After trading for Jimmy though, the 76ers, they played much better. They improved their record to 23-4 at the end of the calendar year. By the end of January, they’re up to 34-18. That was third in the East. And in early February before the trade deadline, they made another massive wind out move acquiring Tobias Harris from the Clippers for Landry Sham, Wilson Chandler, Mike Mscala. Two first and two seconds. Unbelievable. I mean, they did get Boon and Mike Scott in the deal as well, so it gave him a little bit of bench help, but it’s insane that they got Jimmy for no first earlier in the season when they had to give up two first for Tobias Harris. And if it wasn’t obvious before with the Jimmy move, I mean, they were clearly going all in on this season. This was no longer the trust the process era. You know, they took their time with the rebuild, but this was now a win now team. We even got a Sports Illustrated cover around the time with the entire starting lineup and it said process this which yeah that sounds like a lame Sports Illustrated cover to me honestly classic just corny Sports Illustrated but you know the cover did kind of go hard and it showed this team had some legit hype. Hell yeah. During all-star weekend, Bo Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were allstars once again. And then after that, the 76ers, they finished the year strong and with a 51 and 31 record. Actually, one less win than the year prior, but you still get the third seat out east. And given the slow start, given all the roster turnover, like this team was seen as a legit contender going into the playoffs. Yeah, in round one, they matched up with the Brooklyn Nets who also had a breakout season that year. This is the year that DLo was an all-star. They also had Spencer Denwy, a young Jared Allen. You might also remember them for their bench constantly, you know, dancing and celebrating and whatnot. Game one in Philly, though, it was the Nets that got off to a hot start. A three from Caris Levert early in the second gave Brooklyn a 14-point lead. They bumped that up to 17 a couple minutes later after a three from DLO. Big second quarter from Jimmy, including a three to end the half, cut the lead down to eight at halftime. In the second half, 76ers got it down to two at one point, but they were never able to take the lead. Nets stole game one in Philadelphia 111 102 despite Jimmy giving you 36. And after this game, we got the start of the Jared Dudley Ben Simmons beef. Got to love when just a role player who’s doing nothing in this series. Just starts beefing with a star. But what Jared Dudley said is, “I think that Ben Simmons is a great player in transition. Once you slow him up in the half court, I think he’s average when it comes to that.” Honestly, he’s kind of right. But Ben Simmons did go on to cook his ass in this series. Yeah, honestly, he read him like a book. He saw the future, right? But the present wasn’t very kind to him. In game two, the 76ers got off to a much better start. All right, they led by six after the first, but the Nets did respond the second. They got the lead down to one at halftime. After that though, Philly completely takes over. They score 51 points in the third and it was never close again as they win 145123. Great bounceback game from both Embiid and Simmons, but you know, Jared Dudley was out. So, you know, the Ben Simmons stopper, you know, we’d have to wait till game three, the Ben Simmons stopper to see how it really worked out. And over to game three, like the 76ers were gonna need a big game from Ben Simmons because Embiid actually missed this game with knee soreness. So the Nets have a great shot to go up 2-1 in the series. But the 76ers, they get off to a better start. They led by eight at the end of the first. And despite the Nets hanging around for most of this game, Philly, they were able to put them away in the fourth behind 15 fourth quarter points from Ben Simmons. And overall, Ben Simmons one of the best NBA games of his career. goes for 31 points on 11 of 13 shooting. Pours in nine assists, four rebounds, three blocks, has two steals. Made Jared Dudley just look like a dumbass. Honestly, he was laughing at him at one point. Taunted him after Jared Dudley airballed a three. But the beef, it will continue going into game. Well, I was just say if you’re a role player and you’re trying to start a beef with a star, you can’t be chucking up airballs. Absolutely not. Can’t do that. On to game four. The Sixers get Embiid back. And this was a game they desperately needed him because it was back and forth all night long. Nets got off to a better start this time, led by nine after the first, behind 22 points combined from Jared Allen and Caris Lever. Philly cuts into the lead a little bit in the second, but the Nets still have a six-point lead going into halftime. And getting back to the Ben Simmons Jared Dudley beef this time, Jared Dudley hits a three near the end of the second quarter. Did basically the same taunt that Ben Simmons had done to him in game three. But in the third, Joel Embiid commits a hard foul on Jared Allen. Dudley then just comes in out of nowhere and shoves Embiid and we got ourselves a scuffle. Ultimately, it ends up with Jared Dudley and Jimmy Butler getting ejected. So, honestly, pretty great result for Brooklyn, honestly. Like, you’ll take that 10 times out of 10. Yeah, you’re trading like a pawn for a rook or a bishop, you know? Yeah, exactly. You know, Jared Dudley, the 40 chess play right here. The Nets kept a six-point lead entering the fourth, but some huge threes late from JJ Reic and Mike Scott of all players gave the 76ers a late lead. And then Ben Simmons seals the game with a steal on Jared Allen. And in game five, it was really never close. The 76ers start off the game with a 140 lead and they eventually win 122 100 in a game that really wasn’t even that close. So you have your scare in game one, you have your weird Dudley Ben Simmons beat, but ultimately you kind of dominate the Nets and you move on to round two. Yeah, the second round they’d face off against the 58 win Toronto Raptors who had acquired Kawhi Leonard over the offseason. This was a match up a lot of people were looking forward to because it had tons of star power for both teams. Game one in Toronto. Raptors get off to a hot start, led by Kawawaii and Pascal Seakum. They combined for 34 points in the first as the Raptors took an eight-point lead after the first. Sixers hung around all game, but Kawhai was just too good. He had 27 points at the half. Finished the game with 45 as the Raptors win game one 10895. Game two, Jimmy took over though. He led the 76ers with six points in the first. They had a nine-point lead after one. Follow that up with seven more in the second to give Philly a double- digit lead at halftime. And then in the fourth, adds 12 more. Embiid gets a clutch layup late and the 76ers steal game two in Toronto 9489. So back in Philly for game three, 76ers, they carry the momentum forward. They turn in an absolutely dominant first half performance. Embiid’s got 17 points at the half. Tobias and Jimmy Butler each out 11 apiece. Kawhi kept Toronto within reach in the third quarter, but overall Embiid and Philly just dominated this game. capped it off with that big windmill dunk and that I guess like half Jason Terry, you know, airplane celebration, half Shaq celebration after dunk on the Blazers. You know, if you merge those two, that’s kind of what he was going for. Game four though, you know, a chance for the 76ers to go up 3-1 in the series, but Kawawaii has an absolutely monster game. It was back and forth in the first half. Raptors take a two-point lead going to halftime, find Kawawaii giving you 17 first half points. Things stayed close in the third as Kai gave the Raptors 14 more, but the 76ers, they cut into the lead. We’re tied going into the fourth, but once again, it was Kawhi carrying the Raptors. Toronto’s up one. Just over a minute remaining. He gets a screen from Marasaw that gets the switch onto Embiid and then he drains a three in his eye to give the Raptors a four-point lead and they eventually win 10196. Overall, Kawhi, like I said, monster game, 39 points, and we have a tie series headed back up north. Game five was close, you know, after the first. The Raptors only had a one-point lead after one, but then they outscore the 76ers by 20 in the second, and it was never close after that. They eventually win things by 36 in a game Embiid really struggled in. So, two games ago for Philly, things were looking great. You’re up 2-1, but now you’re headed back home in a must-win game six. But credit to the 76ers. They came out and played like it was a must-win. Tobias Harris, Jimmy, and Ben Simmons combined for 24 in the first. They take an eight-point lead after one. They built their lead up to 15 at halftime. Embiid comes alive in the second half. Ben Simmons stays hot. So, we have a tie series at 3-3. Headed back to Toronto for a huge game seven. Yeah, this game was your classic like lowscoring game seven. Both teams played real hard on defense. Raptors led by five after the first. Both teams got it going in the second, but the score was still just 44 to 40 at halftime with the Raptors leading. And down the stretch of this game, I mean, neither team could build up a lead. Fast forward to 3 and 1/2 minutes left. Raptors up three, but a jumper from JJ Reic plus a foul ties the game at 85. Almost 2 minutes later, Kawhai responds to the deep two to give the Raptors a lead. A Lowry steal and a Seakum layup pushes that lead to four, but some free throws by Jimmy on backto-back possessions. Gets the lead back down to one. Kawhi then foul with 10 seconds left. makes the first to extend the lead to two, but misses the second. And Jimmy gets a layup on the other end to tie the game at 90 apiece with 4 seconds left. Raptors take a timeout to advance the ball. And we all know what comes next. Kawawaii gets the ball, drives to the opposite baseline, tosses it up in the sky. It comes down, bounces on the rim four times, and then drops through the hoop in what may be the toughest loss in NBA history. I mean, it’s up there. It maybe doesn’t quite get to like, you know, the Spurs in 2013 game six or like the Warriors in game seven on their home floor in 2016, but man, what a crushing way to loss if you’re the 76ers. And I will say one thing that really pissed me off about this shot. Dames buzzer beater against Oklahoma City was the top post on our/NBA for like for like two weeks and then this overtook it. I was like, Kawhai, you bastard. You took our man’s spot at the top. And we always talk about this shot, this game from the Raptors perspective because how could you not? Kawawaii. Incredible 2019 playoff run. The Raptors win their first ever title and a big reason why was because of this shot. But from the 76ers perspective, especially given what has happened for them since. Absolutely devastating. Like there’s no guarantees they win this series if the game goes to overtime. Of course, there’s no guarantees they beat the Bucks in the conference finals. Although they did have the length, some of the same like personnel that the Raptors did to, you know, kind of load the box against Giannis. So, I think they could have and like even if they would have beat the Bucks, there’s no guarantees they beat the Warriors, but this could have been the team for the 76ers. Embiid hasn’t made the conference finals. He was a couple bounces away from potentially making it. So, it’s just brutal to think about from Philly fans, 76ers fans, because we always think about it from the Raptors, the incredible moment, you know, the sideline where they’re hugging him, they’re going crazy, the whole stadium going crazy. But for Philly fans, you really have to feel for them. So, finally, what happened to this team immediately after this season? Not even a full season with him, Jimmy was dealt to the Heat in a Sun and trade deal. It’s not quite as simple as saying the 76ers chose Tobias over Jimmy. Jimmy was frustrated with management. He didn’t always agree with head coach Brett Brown. But at the same time, from what I heard, from what I researched, from what I could tell, they never offered him a max contract and given how he played for the Heat over the next 5 years. Given Embiid’s development, Ben Simmons, you know, his falloff, him and Embiid are two of the five best players in the East around this time and they might have been second and third only behind Giannis. So, them together on a team, this could have been a championship team. like you let Tobias walk even with the Ben Simmons stuff. It’s just insane in hindsight what that duo could have done together if they would have just resigned Jimmy to say, you know, Jimmy, whatever you want. If you want Brett Brown fired, fine. Like, whatever you want. We just want to keep you here. This could have been a finals team. It could have maybe even been a championship team with that duo. At the very least, we wouldn’t have been able to make all the Embiid hasn’t made a conference finals jokes. Yeah, undoubtedly. Sixers fans would have been saved from those. So, what do you guys think? If that ball bounces out, could this team have won a title? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed that video, please consider giving a like. And hey, while you’re here, check out some of our other content as well. And don’t forget to subscribe to Synthetic Sports.

Recently we talked about Ben Simmons and the state of his career. And while creating that video we got reminded of the 2019 Philadelphia 76ers. A team that went all in on two mid season and trades , but would suffer one of the most heartbreaking losses in NBA history.

Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiDPnh65zGGFwVJ0jRMB7Ug?sub_confirmation=1

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SyntheticSports

Business Inquiries: syntheticsportsbusiness@gmail.com

Music Used:
WWE Roman Reigns “Head Of The Table” Entrance Theme – INNES:

#76ers #bensimmons #joelembiid #jimmybutler