Kendrick Perkins goes off on Philadelphia 76ers - “I thought the goal was a championship, not the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes”
Kendrick Perkins didn't hold back after the Philadelphia 76ers started their season with an 0-3 record. Their most recent loss came against the San Antonio Spurs at home. The Spurs are among the lottery teams expected to vie for the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes in the next draft.
Perkins taunted the Sixers on that note through one of his recent tweets, saying:
"Sixers 0-3? I thought the goal was a championship, not the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes! Carry on…"
Wembanyama enters as one of the most hyped prospects ever. Teams at the bottom of the standings are expected to enter an intense tanking race to have better odds of landing the #1 pick in the draft.
With the Sixers going winless through their first three games, fans and analysts have poked fun at their expense by mildly referring to them as a lottery team. Kendrick Perkins seems to have joined in on the jokes through his tweet regarding their 0-3 start.
Sixers 0-3? I thought the goal was a championship, not the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes! Carry on…
The Philadelphia 76ers' first two losses came against championship favorites like the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, which didn't raise many eyebrows regarding their winless record. However, Philadelphia were the heavy favorites against the young San Antonio Spurs team but failed to prevail, despite playing at full strength.
After underwhelming outings in the first two losses, Joel Embiid returned to form with a 40-point double-double, also bagging 13 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey was the next-best player for the Sixers with 25 points. However, James Harden failed to produce the goods after dropping back-to-back 30-point outings against the Celtics and the Bucks. Harden could only tally 12 points on 4-of-18 shooting.
The Philadelphia 76ers roster seems competitive enough, but that hasn't converted into them playing like a legitimate contender thus far.
Philadelphia 76ers have numerous issues to address following 0-3 start
The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to an unexpected start. Analysts have lauded their offseason moves for bringing in players like PJ Tucker, De'Anthony Melton, Danuel House Jr. and Montrezl Harrell. However, the 76ers may take time to build their chemistry and identity with their new-look roster.
The 76ers need to improve on both ends of the floor. They need to involve all their players on the offensive end of the court. Despite having potent scorers like Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey, with decent 3-point shooters, the Sixers continue to rely on James Harden and Joel Embiid to produce the goods in iso situations.
Their offense often goes stagnant, which doesn't cause headaches for opposition teams defensively, especially if either Harden or Embiid or both can't get going.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers' defense has been their biggest weakness thus far. They have allowed teams to shoot 48% from the floor across their three games. These numbers are nowhere good for a team that has championship aspirations.
The Sixers are 0-3 and struggling defensively.
Their best perimeter defender has played 4 total minutes this season. https://t.co/gSwSlJgRs9
Nevertheless, the Sixers are only three games into the season, so they have time to resolve their issues. Considering the talent they have, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them turn things around and make a strong comeback over the next few games.