Knicks Beat Sluggish 76ers 111-99 in NBA Cup Opener
The second annual NBA Cup began on Tuesday night as the New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 111-99. OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 24 points on 11-16 field goal shooting, and Karl-Anthony Towns had a strong all-around game with 21 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, and six assists. Jalen Brunson had a quiet game (18 points on 5-15 field goal shooting, five assists, game-high six turnovers) by his lofty standards, particularly considering that he torched the 76ers for 35.5 ppg in the 2024 playoffs. Paul George led the 76ers with a game-high 29 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, and Jared McCain added 23 points off of the bench. Joel Embiid's season debut was a dud: 13 points on 2-11 field goal shooting, five assists, and just three rebounds. The Knicks outrebounded the 76ers 47-40, and outshot them from the field .494 (44-89) to .373 (.31-83).
I explained the NBA Cup's format and rules in a July 10, 2023 article. The Knicks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks last year 110-105 in the first game of the inaugural NBA Cup. Brunson poured in a game-high 45 points in that contest. The L.A. Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers to win the inaugural NBA Cup, after which the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs while the Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before being swept by the Boston Celtics. Although the NBA heavily hypes up the NBA Cup, overall the NBA's viewership ratings went down slightly last season, and the 2024 NBA Finals had the lowest viewership since 2021.
Load management, tanking, and the proliferation of analytics-driven increases in three point shooting are three reasons that the NBA game is not as entertaining or interesting as it used to be. This Knicks-76ers game embodies much of what is wrong with the modern NBA: the 76ers are infamous for tanking to get Embiid, who they are now load managing in hopes of keeping him healthy for the playoffs, and these two teams combined to jack up 73 three pointers while making just 23 of them. Who wants to watch 50 three pointers clank off of the rim?
The NBA game used to feature above the rim play, midrange shooting, and teams running a variety of different offenses, but now the NBA game features teams jacking up as many three pointers as possible. The NBA game also used to feature more physicality; it is more entertaining to see a great player score when he is being defended toughly, as opposed to seeing the scoreboard light up while little to no defensive resistance is provided. The NBA All-Star Game has not only become a joke, but it has become a template for the regular season NBA as well. Players get paid more than ever to play less and compete less than ever, which leaves fans feeling justifiably turned off.
The NBA was a much better league when load management and tanking did not exist, and when players played hard because they loved the game.
The talented but inconsistent Embiid is the poster child for the NBA's decline over the past 10 years or so. Embiid looked out of shape and rusty, and he was noticeably winded almost immediately after the game began. TNT's Stan Van Gundy make weak excuses for Embiid, arguing that Embiid is in shape and that nothing compares to playing under game conditions, but the sad reality is that Embiid has been in suboptimal condition for most of his career, which is likely a big reason that Embiid is injured so often. Embiid should have been able to do enough cardio work to be better prepared to play.
The 76ers' stated plan to rest Embiid and not have him play in back to back games will not help Embiid get in shape or work off the rust, so even if the 76ers qualify for the playoffs they will not be poised to make a deep run. The 76ers' newest "Big Three" has yet to play together in a game, as Tyrese Maxey is out with a hamstring injury, Embiid missed the first nine games of this season, and George missed the first five games of this season due to a bone bruise in his left knee.
Instead of giving NBA players even more money to compete for the NBA Cup, the NBA should limit or eliminate guaranteed salaries; if players did not get paid to sit out then they would be less inclined to do so, and if players who are not performing up to par could be cut without having a golden parachute then players would be incentivized to play hard. I understand that the Players Association would fight tooth and nail to preserve guaranteed contracts, but if the NBA continues to put a subpar product on the floor then it risks killing the goose that is laying the golden eggs.
Labels: Jalen Brunson, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, NBA Cup, New York Knicks, Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers, Tyrese Maxey
posted by David Friedman @ 11:28 AM
