For the 76ers, coming back from a 3-1 deficit and eliminating the Celtics from the playoffs was the biggest highlight the franchise has had in 25 years. Philly treated that series like their championship, and honestly, fair is fair. They haven’t had much to get excited about in a long time, and they hadn’t beaten the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982.
The team came together, and their fans got to actually see the vision for a few games. And it happened against their chief rival that has had them under its thumb for almost 45 years. They were also huge underdogs and won three straight games, including two in Boston.
But the good vibes disappeared very quickly for the Sixers as they got emasculated in round two, getting summarily swept by the Knicks in four games. All of the worst traits of this Sixers team came right back out again, and the team got dismantled and embarrassed by a Knicks team that is cruising.
So, despite the giant triumph over the Celtics, the 76ers fell short of reaching the conference finals, a bar they haven’t cleared since 2001.
76ers part ways with Daryl Morey
And apparently, the disappointing ending to the season was more than the Sixers’ ownership group could handle, and on Monday, they fired their president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey. Morey took over the job in 2020 and was tasked with overseeing the Joel Embiid era.
He made a number of big moves, trading for James Harden, signing Paul George, and others. But the moves started to catch up with him as he stubbornly believed in building around a few stars and ignoring the margins.Â
And now, the 76ers are on the hook for two of the worst contracts in the league with Embiid and George on the books for several more years. They also traded away promising young player, Jared McCain at this year’s deadline to duck the tax, and McCain is now playing a key bench role for the Thunder in the playoffs.
It’s hard to say what exactly was the last straw, but either way, after six seasons without a conference finals appearance, the 76ers are ready to move on. Oddly enough, they’ll be retaining head coach Nick Nurse, and former Warriors GM Bob Myers will be presiding over the search for a new GM.
The Celtics aren’t really in a position to pass judgment at the moment. But it’s comforting to know that even after that demoralizing playoff loss, the Sixers, as a franchise, are still in much greater disarray.
Add us as a preferred source on Google