
The Opening Tip
Hello & Happy Almost Weekend - It's the Corner Three!
$10 OFF ALL VANS SLIP-ONS AT KINETIC
This starts FRIDAY and lasts till SUNDAY and all you need to do is use code RICKYSLIPS at checkout at Kinetic. Again, TOMORROW to SUNDAY.

Oh Yeah, The Sixers

Don't Look Now..
The grind absolutely continues. Here we go!
This Week's Top 10!
10. Franklin Saint
9. Fast & Furious Franchise
8. Water Ice
7. Thursday Nights
6. Mad Max Games
5. Live Ricky's
4. AJ Brown
3. Houston Basketball
2. Niang on the bench
1. The BBALL PAUL GAME
Best thing I ate this week
The Big Head from Down North Pizza. I'm pretty tame in regards to pizza rankings and who has the best etc. because I think pizza in itself is extremely subjective but man, do yourself a favor and try really anything on the Down North menu.

MIKE'S CORNER... MIKE IS IN A BAD PLACE
New to the Corner Three Newsletter: every week Spike or Mike will write a section, aptly titled Spike's Corner or Mike's Corner. It's Mike's turn today, and it's about... one play?
I just want to talk about one play. A play that is the summation of most of the Sixers problems. Most of the reasons why I simply cannot get myself to believe that they're a legitimate playoff threat. The cause of most of my banging my head through a wall then through a picture frame then through the hallway then through a closet and into an ironing board. A play that several mean-spirited people on Twitter sent to me, knowing the anguish it would cause.
Which play? This play.
That is Cody Zeller. CODY. ZELLER. Wasn't-In-The-NBA-10-Days-Ago Cody Zeller, setting a simple screen, then rolling, trudging, obligatorily sloughing towards the basket. And he draws four defenders. Four. Came close to a fifth if Maxey was big enough to wedge himself in there like he's trying to get to the front row of a Cody Zeller concert.
Jalen McDaniels. Bball Paul. Shake Milton. James Harden. Let's take them one at a time.
Jalen is covering Tyler Herro. He fights around a screen, sees that Bball is with Herro, and hustles to get in front of Zeller before he gets to the rim. He is successful at this, he is not to blame. If everyone else simply stayed where they were - knowing it is CODY ZELLER and Jalen McDaniels at his most athletic age could probably cover the foot & a half ground - all would be good. That is not what happened.
Bball Paul goes with Herro, successfully deters a drive, then looks over and sees McDaniels has switched onto Zeller. One of the benefits of being Bball is that you can switch onto smaller guys! Unfortunately he is a helpful soul, so he goes to double none other than, still, CODY ZELLER. He also jumps, pointlessly, leaving himself more vulnerable. A mistake, but not a paralyzing one -- if everybody else just stays home, Bball can use his length to recover back to Herro and contest a shot. That is not what happened.
Shake is covering Max Strus in the dunker's spot as he considers cutting through to the strongside corner. Shake sees the P&R, doesn't realize the rollman is the guy with the worst hairline + baldspot combination in the modern NBA, and goes over to help. At least Strus isn't much of a lob threat in the halfcourt. Despite a 7-foot wingspan, Shake has 9 blocks on the season. Even if no one else was there, he's not going to block the shot, or affect the shot without fouling. But he's been told to help help help like a neighbor desperately trying to make friends, so he helps. He also jumps. But fine, it's Cody Zeller, he probably can't make the pass back up to Herro at the top of the key, so as long as Maxey & Harden cover the easy kickouts in his eyeline, they'll be okay. That is not what happened.
JAMES HARDEN WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING. The play starts, he's already playing center in a zone covering no one. So far, poor. His guy, I believe, is Caleb (checks to make sure it's not Cody) Martin, taking his position in the weakside corner. Harden doesn't go with him. He is watching the play, because watching the play is fun, and backpedaling aimlessly, which also seems fun. Then why not -- he also goes to help on one of the stiffest players in the league, also kind've jumps, realizes too late that he's the 4th guy in the worst boy band of all time, and futilely watches the rest of the play from there.
Maxey - who again turns his head & body fully, leaving himself super vulnerable to a cut right down the lane if Miami had to really even exert energy to get a good look - now has to cover three well-spaced shooters, runs to Martin in the corner, easiest swing in the world to Oladipo, and it's a wide open catch and shoot three, that Bball (who had only just landed from his pointless jump) can't scramble to contest in time.
This happens constantly. It's more infuriating that it's Cody Zeller. But this team overhelps, on anybody, forever, starting with Grayson Allen in the 2nd game of the year to give up a wide open Wes Matthews game winner, to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope dribbling for the 8th time all season. Whether it's the coaches making this call, or the players' bad habits, or just the fact that they know too many guys on this team can't contain dribble penetration, it doesn't really matter, because 60ish games into the season, it's not going to change. It's going to burn them in the playoffs. And it's going to kill me.
SPONSOR CORNER
We already mentioned Kinetic right? We did. Starting tomorrow, $10 any pair of Vans slip-ons with code RICKYSLIPS at their website. Only till Sunday.
We're trying to think of what Draft Kings Sportsbook special prop we can sucker them in to doing for Live Ricky V. BBall Paul offensive rebounds for the entire playoffs? Times Joel Embiid is questionable? How many Ricky hosts are alive if they don't get past the second round again? Whatever they are, use code RTRS when you sign up.
Peace, Love and Process
Call Your Parents, Watch the Sixers and Jon Jones Saturday Night

-Zo