The Longest Offseason & Maxey Expectations
Spike confirms this is the longest summer ever, while Zo outlines what we can expect next year from the reigning MIP.
I’ll admit, as I said on the podcast, doing an episode where we give the answers to all of the things we swore we’d never give the answers to made me uncomfortable. The episode was fun and it seems like people enjoyed it, but it made me nervous that we were somehow jumping our 17th shark.
The truth is, we almost had no choice. This Sixers offseason has been at least 8 months long, and this is our third August. The offseason used to be when the Ricky really cooked. But at this point, it’s really when we all wait.
The things that filled the Summer months just don’t really hit in the same way anymore. The NBA draft, once the lifeblood of our offseason, is centered around a player that either won’t play very much if at all, or will get traded by the deadline (to be clear, I don’t mean McCain specifically here, just that whoever we picked was going to be this way). Free Agency is basically a few hours long, and the news around it is mostly annoying rumor-mongering. Summer League… I mean, I watch it, and I have opinions on it, but it really doesn’t matter.
There is only one thing left for the Sixers to do, and that’s have a season like we all thought they’d have several of when this begun. One where they “make a run” which we have basically determined to be “get to the conference Finals.” I give our writers credit for thinking of new ways to say it, I give me and Mike credit for somehow talking about it for a few hours every week, but that’s really all that’s left.
I say I’ve enjoyed the ride either way, and that’s true, but the stakes are still insanely high. If the team goes on a run, and maybe even ::gasp:: makes the Finals (they’ve beaten “WON” the Finals out of me), we are vindicated. It was all worth it. We were officially right. We can relax. If they never do, the consequences are almost too great to consider. We’re the dumbest fucks on the planet. We may have won several battles, but Hoop Critic will have won the war.
And although there are only about two months (!!) left of the offseason, you can even tack the regular season onto it, as that won’t much matter either. We’ve seen first place finishes and play-in finishes and they all feel the same way after we’re disappointed in the playoffs.
We’ve been at this for 11 years so another few months shouldn’t be that bad, but it’s going to be excruciating. Perhaps there’s another Lickface everyone needs the answer to.
ZO’S CORNER - 10 THINGS I’M ANXIOUS TO SEE FROM TYRESE MAXEY
10. Generally a guy who got better at everything over the summer
Officially have come to expect this at a minimum, one more new thing added to his arsenal.
9. Guy with an edge
We have been begging for this but I think the Knicks series changed him.
8. A great listener
More importantly, someone who takes heed to what Joel Embiid is asking him to do as co-pilot.
7. A floor general
Not too much to ask and I think he’s ready.
6. A guy who’s found his voice
Probably the most important thing on this list.
5. A crunch time demon
Again, see: the Knicks series.
4. A guy who will welcome the Kyle Lowry challenge
K-Low will push the hell out of him and that matters.
3. A more offensive threat
Sounds silly saying it, but I think that bag expands some more.
2. A passing lane menace
Pure projection, but if there’s one thing I’d love to see him take from AI is the ability to dodge in and out of those passing lanes on defense.
1. A guy who’s fucking tired of losing
Not saying the other guys (mainly Embiid) aren’t, but he strikes me as the kind of person who will show it more than others — and this team needs that.
I hate to be like this but there's nothing I can do about it. Beating Boston is the Finals for me.