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Whatever happens in these playoffs, where the
Sixers
come in first place in the
Eastern Conference
and third in the general classification, it will be the end of the
Process
. It can be a successful finale (if they win the title), worthy (if they compete in the final) or a failure whose level must be decided -and digest- by the fans (if the result is any other). In any case, no one doubts that if the Sixers do not win the
NBA
there will be changes that will separate
Embiid and Simmons
, the two visible faces of recent years and absolute protagonists of this strategy.
The
Process
-with a capital letter;
after a decade it is the minimum-, it is the journey that began back in 2013, with the arrival of
Sam Hinkie
.
In 2012 there was a handsome team (
Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, Evan Turner, Nikola Vucevic
...) with no aspirations beyond walking through the playoffs without any pretense of approaching the final.
In 2013 the demolition began: you don't make an omelette without breaking the eggs and in Philadelphia they cooked them as if they were shooting a Fairy ad in Villarriba.
The normal thing would be to compare the first years of the Process with a journey through the desert, but not even: in the Sahara at night at least the stars come out.
Jahlil Okafor was
out at the Wells Fargo Center
.
The first years the strategy was simple: get fat to sell.
Usually the day of the slaughter coincided with the day of the draft, in which a player who had been given a year or two to show that he could wield the greatsword of the process was packed in and acquired a better looking one.
The choice was always the best player available, even if it meant picking three centers in a row.
Faith and pain
Some of them had a couple of good lunges -
Michael Carter Williams
was rookie of the year and
Nerlens Noel
has ended up being a good defender - but none of them came up to the mark. Until in the third position of the
draft
(behind
Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker
) came
Joel Embiid
, who, at 213 centimeters, certainly had size. Also a crystal physicist who made it take him two years to debut. Like a curse of sorts, injuries also delayed the start of
Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz's careers.
From the offices they repeated like a mantra that you had to believe in the Process, as if faith could make it hurt less to be the worst team of the season and, with a balance of 10 wins and 72 losses, one of the worst in history. (beating in a victory, yes, the Sixers of the season 72-73). In the end, that player would arrive capable of making you dream of continuing to play in June.
During that disastrous season, Embiid watched from the bench how Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel were warming up an area that would be his and where
Elton Brand
also walked -as best he could-
.
A year later he would return, after playing only 31 games, to that same bench, where Ben Simmons was already waiting for him (who the following year was the best rookie).
The engine began to carburet and what looked like a cracked R5 had some Lamborghini builds that only Sam Hinkie had been able to intuit.
They went from 28 wins in a season (34.1%) to not less than 43
(58%; it was in a shorter season than usual) in a year.
Defending
A fact that perfectly explains these Sixers is that only one player from their squad -Joel Embiid- will be chosen for one of the best quintets of the year (although he made merits to be in the first, there was only room for a great and that had to be
Jokic
). However, they will have three members of the squad among the best defensive quintets: Embiid himself, Simmons (both in the first if
Gobert
does not remove Joel) and a surprising
Thybulle
(second).
In the middle of the season an inopportune -like all, on the other hand- injury snatched Embiid the many ballots to win the MVP that he had accumulated based on dominating areas (his own and others).
He returned to practically the same level, but those absences, together with those that he brings from the factory, weighed down his options.
The best has to play every game, not two out of three.
Even so, if Jokic had gotten lost, he could have ended up snatching the award from him.
In any case, Embiid came back as if he hadn't left, just as eager to ravage defenses at the point-per-minute rate and still getting the change back.
When things were going well, he resolved the game in three quarters and enjoyed like one more supporter during the fourth.
When not, he was approaching 40 points and harvested rebounds, easily surpassing ten.
Beside him,
Ben Simmons
, a constant triple-double threat who defends all positions: from the point guard to the center through the physical trainer, the mascot and even the one who sells the hot dogs. He would not shoot three even if they gave him six points per basket, but he has shown that it is not necessary if he gets others to do it for him. And in transition, not even the laws of physics stop him.
The truth is that during the absences of their stars, the Sixers resolved their commitments with quite a note, mainly thanks to a
Tobias Harris
who played the second half of the season with the rage of those who deserved to go to the All Star for their merits in the first .
Danny Green and Seth Curry
provided the aim, solvency and, above all, chemistry that was so lacking last season.
One of the deepest benches in the league also helped.
It is not because the sixth man could be a starter in many teams, it is that until the ninth or tenth they would have a hole in one of the franchises that were fighting to get into the playoffs.
Doc Rivers
has repeated throughout the season that this is the best team he has coached and it is partly because of a cast of secondary and specialists who fit like pieces of clay in the puzzle of rotations.
And on top of that they signed a playoff official like George Hill.
Dock
The first reserve sword has been regularly wielded by
Shake Milton
, a microwave capable of scoring four possessions in a row in which he makes the worst possible decision four times. He is also one of the 76ers' most valuable assets should they decide to break with it all this summer, as his contract and quality would give some room to negotiate.
While on paper the sixth man ditto would have to be given to Shake Milton,
Dwight Howard
would fulfill that role if it weren't for the fact that his minutes are played to the detriment of Embiid's. He arrived without making a lot of noise and with certain doubts, but he has turned out to be one of the best signings in recent years for performance, grit and, in general, the desire to touch the balls. After splitting their heads with Joel, rival centers had to take a break fighting none other than Howard, a guy who has shoulders on his shoulders and between three and four elbows per arm. The player - delicate and subtle like a chorizo sandwich with Tabasco; he throws free throws like the one who throws darts - he was in charge of tormenting rival knees, kidneys and morale in each bounce.
Matisse Thybulle
, a player capable of turning a game around by scoring between three and four points, and that's if he's inspired. Nobody in the NBA steals more balls in 48 minutes, so with the 20 he plays, he has plenty to be among the top ten thieves in the league. And with more than one cap per game (he finished in the top 20 and with more total caps than Embiid himself) he put the icing on a maddening cake in the few moments in which he was placed as co-pilot of a zone driven by Ben Simmons. through which not even the air passed. A devastating fact: this season he had a steal in 3.9% of rival offensive possessions and a block in 4.9% of them, something that only
David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon
had done before
.
Even the veteran - by the standards of permanence in the Philadelphia team -
Furkan Korkmaz
has gone from operating as a sniper to uncovering himself as a competent matador - let's not forget that he won a contest in the Turkish league - and a respectable defender.
And without forgetting that his shot after feint is usually lethal and very helpful in a team that has never managed to master the long distance facet.
Long live the Process
First 12 rounds, four top-three picks and 112 players went through Philadelphia between the 2013 draft and these finals.
Jimmy Butler, Marco Belinelli, Robert Covington, JaVale McGee, Christian Wood and even Sergio Rodríguez
donned the 76ers jersey.
Despite this, when the project really took shape, it was supported by two pillars: Embiid and Simmons.
And with them he was an impossible triple from
Kawhi
to reach the conference finals (of course he also had an embarrassing step through the
Orlando
bubble
).
Be that as it may, there was never an opportunity like this to win a ring, leave the Process behind, and start the dynasty.
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