Less than two days after their Philadelphia 76ers exited the playoffs by losing Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series to the Atlanta Hawks at home court, team president Daryl Morey was emphatic in his belief that the level of negativity surrounding the franchise right now does not match reality.
“Frankly, I don’t understand much of what I’m reading,” Morey said at a virtual news conference at the end of the season on Tuesday afternoon. “People say the Sixers are in a bad situation.
“I do not choose to come here, [el entrenador Doc Rivers] do not choose to come here if this is a bad situation. I mean, really 25 or 26 teams in this league would love to be in our situation with a top MVP and All-Star caliber player, great young players who are signed for the long haul, good veterans.
“So we have a good foundation. We just have to do better, I have to do better, everyone has to do better.”
In the wake of Philadelphia’s season ending in such a disastrous way, the person who has received the biggest setback for his performance is the star guard. Ben simmons, who did not exist offensively in the final quarter of the series and scored a combined 19 points in Games 5, 6 and 7.
Unsurprisingly, that led to Morey being asked, on several occasions, to commit to having Simmons on the list next season. And unsurprisingly, Morey went out of his way to avoid making any kind of definitive statement about the long-term future of Simmons or anyone else currently on the Philadelphia roster.
“We have a very strong group that we believe in,” Morey said. “None of us can predict the future of what will happen anywhere. We love what Ben brings, we love what Joel brings [Embiid], we love what Tobias brings [Harris]; in terms of what’s next, we’ll do our best for the 76ers to give us the best chance to win the championship with every player on the roster. “
However, he said at one point that “I think it’s pretty straightforward what certain players need to improve,” which is not too far off from Rivers saying Monday that Simmons just has to improve as a free kick taker after falling to a lousy 34.7. % from the free throw line in the postseason.
But Morey also delved into the team’s offensive woes in general, saying the Sixers have to improve on that end of the court, before going over some of what caused Philadelphia to lose Game 7 at home, an outcome that the Morey himself admitted that he was still processing.
“We need to be a better offensive team,” Morey said. “I mean, we’re two days later … you can tell it’s still a little raw. I think if you repeat that Game 7 a bunch of times and, you know, we execute better, then we win. But look, the reality is. We didn’t and frankly if we’re yelling in the second round that just tells me we’re not, sadly we’re probably not good enough to win the title so we have to get better.
“But, you know, the game, that series, is still incredibly painful.”
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The Hall of Famer analyzed Philadelphia’s failure to fall at home in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Morey also gave Embiid a lot of credit for the way he advanced in the second round with a small tear in his lateral meniscus. Embiid averaged 30.4 points and 12.7 rebounds against Atlanta despite the injury. Morey said that Embiid was receiving a full medical review by Philadelphia doctors and that any decisions made about his health, and whether he would need surgery, would be made after that.
“Yeah, I mean, I think we’re all very impressed with what Joel was able to do,” Morey said. “I mean he is, you know, kind of the heart and soul of the team, and what he did every night for us will be cherished forever.
“In terms of, for example, what’s next, I know they’re going through a full evaluation of him right now, the medical staff along with Joel and his very good team of advisers, and the next step will be determined from that. “.