By Tim Bontemps, Brian Windhorst | ESPN, 2026-03-27 19:00:00
俄克拉荷马城雷霆队结束了他们本赛季最长的客场之旅——10天5场比赛——并在周三晚上负于波士顿凯尔特人队。这是雷霆队一个月来的首场失利，但这支卫冕冠军在登机回家时，在西部联盟的领先优势仅剩两场。
这是因为在周三晚上同样取胜的圣安东尼奥马刺队，自2月1日以来打出了惊人的23胜2负，紧随俄克拉荷马城之后——而且凭借赛季交锋中4胜1负的优势，马刺还握有平分胜负关系的优势。尽管雷霆自全明星赛后也打出了15胜2负的骄人战绩，但他们就是无法甩开对手，这凸显了教练、球探、高管和球员们都在问的一个重大问题：
一支全是20多岁年轻人的球队，以及一位执教首个完整赛季的教练，能否震惊世界？
这不仅仅是指在排名上超越雷霆，甚至不只是赢得西部决赛。联盟内部人士正在思考，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 和马刺队能否夺得 NBA 历史上最令人震惊的冠军之一，这一成就将打破联盟的所有历史规律。
跳转至内幕详情：
马刺将引发“彻头彻尾的噩梦”
扩军、摆烂及更多来自董事会的消息
伤病走势主导东部竞争
为什么文班和马刺正在改变人们的看法
布莱恩·温德霍斯特 (Brian Windhorst)： 上周赛前用餐时，我和一位资深的东部联盟球探一起在看电视转播的马刺队比赛。我们看着文班亚马在球场一端扇掉了一次投篮，然后几乎跑赢了场上所有人冲到另一端，以一记扣篮结束了这次进攻。
“他们现在是我的夺冠热门了，”这位球探告诉 ESPN，“我一直在思考这件事。他的比赛风格在季后赛中会更具统治力，而且每一场比赛他都会越来越多地进入你的脑海。在第一场比赛中，你的球员在投篮时会想到他。到了第四场，他们就会做彻头彻尾的噩梦。”
这位球探并非孤例。我们一直在联盟中打听马刺队的机会——并且不断发现信徒。
蒂姆·邦坦普斯 (Tim Bontemps)： 确实如此。本周我采访的一个又一个消息源都对马刺队赞不绝口——除了文班亚马每晚展现出的显而易见的才华之外。
“他们是一支非常出色的球队，”一位所在球队最近刚与圣安东尼奥交过手的高管表示，“他们的教练执教有方，球队组建得非常好。这群球员的组合令人印象深刻。”
“而且维克托绝对是无法防守的。”
温德霍斯特： 缺乏经验是你在季后赛中经常听到的陈词滥调。但这绝对至关重要。应对起伏、理解所需的准备深度以及管理漫长系列赛带来的疲劳，这些素质在82场常规赛中是无法模拟的。但是……
“每个人都说他们没有经验，但他们的经验比任何人想象的都要丰富，”一位东部高管在谈到马刺时说，“哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 和卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 都有冠军戒指。德阿伦·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 是联盟最好的关键球球员之一，他也打过季后赛。”
“你觉得维克托会被这种大场面吓倒吗？祝你好运。”
邦坦普斯： 经验因素总是会被提及，因为在 NBA 季后赛中，球队通常不会跳级。
自1976-77赛季 NBA 与 ABA 合并以来，只有1977年的波特兰开拓者队和2008年的凯尔特人队在上一季无缘季后赛的情况下，在接下来的赛季夺冠。但这两支球队都不是很好的类比对象，因为凯尔特人在那个夏天交易来了名人堂成员凯文·加内特和雷·阿伦，而开拓者则在休赛期通过 ABA 分散选秀签下了另一位名人堂成员莫里斯·卢卡斯。
马刺队最好的历史参照可能是由沙奎尔·奥尼尔 (Shaquille O’Neal) 和安芬尼·哈达威 (Anfernee Hardaway) 领衔的奥兰多魔术队，他们在1994年首轮出局后，于1995年打入 NBA 总决赛。文班亚马可能是30年前在魔术队篮筐上翻江倒海的年轻奥尼尔的最佳类比，而迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 则是潜在的未来明星后卫。
但即便是那支球队，最终也在总决赛中被哈基姆·奥拉朱旺和休斯顿火箭队横扫。
“历史规律表明今年不会发生这种事，并对此持否定态度，”一位资深球探说，“但他们不同。文班亚马是不同的。这违背了我所有的历史信念，但他确实是现象级的。”
温德霍斯特： 让我们退一步，看看雷霆面临的挑战。常规赛的成功在季后赛中意义不大。去年，凯尔特人在常规赛中统治了尼克斯，但当他们去波士顿并取得2-0领先时，没人会在意常规赛。雷霆已经常规性地证明了他们应对压力以及依靠不同角色球员在季后赛系列赛中取胜的能力。在过去的两个赛季中，包括季后赛在内，他们的战绩为141胜37负。当然，这一点必须被考虑在内。
“这没问题，但你要意识到维克托可以废掉他们最大的武器，”一位西部教练说，“当比赛陷入胶着时，谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 会来到他熟悉的肘区位置，用中距离跳投击败你，或者骗你犯规。而维克托拥有该死的8英尺臂展，他可以同时防守那个跳投和篮筐，并且保持足够的距离让谢伊无法制造身体接触。”
“谢伊说他掌握了考试的答案。没错，他是掌握了，但维克托打破了所有的规则。”
还有一件事被向我指出：
“假设丹佛拿到了4号种子，”一位西部高管说，“这是我们内部预测的结果。如果那又是一个七场系列赛会怎样？这对俄克拉荷马城来说可不是什么好签位。哪怕雷霆再次击败掘金，后者也能让他们精疲力竭。”
邦坦普斯： 还有一个潜在问题值得指出。虽然马刺在各个位置上都有巨大的体型优势，但他们在季后赛中最大的软肋可能是缺乏投射。
他们的三位充满活力的后卫——福克斯、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔和新秀迪伦·哈珀——的三分球命中率都在平均水平以下。当球队进入季后赛并有机会针对圣安东尼奥制定比赛计划时，可以预见他们会包夹防守并放空卡斯尔，逼迫他去投篮。
这类问题在82场常规赛中并不经常显现。但在激烈的季后赛系列赛中，如何应对并克服这些调整，可能就是晋级与出局之间的差别。
充满变数的董事会会议后，下一步是什么？
邦坦普斯： 本周在纽约举行的球队老板会议聚焦于联盟扩军以及涌入 NBA 的巨额资金和工作岗位。但最热门的话题是赛季末奖项的65场规定，此前底特律活塞队球星凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham) 遭遇肺塌陷，这让他退出了 MVP 和最佳阵容的竞争，但他应该能在季后赛及时回归。（65场规定确实有针对赛季报销伤病的例外条款，但前提是球员必须达到62场出赛。坎宁安目前是60场。）
最近几天对这项规定的抱怨很多。在2023年实施该规定时表示同意的球员工会正计划提出一份反议案。坎宁安在 Excel Sports Management 的经纪人杰夫·施瓦茨 (Jeff Schwartz) 以及一些媒体成员一直在呼吁修改规则。
但本赛季有一件事被忽视了：规则正在起作用。
正如萧华周三指出的那样，在经历了多年关于联盟顶级球星轮休的负面报道后，球星的出勤率有所上升。
“我认为65场规定显然产生了意想不到的后果，需要进行评估，”一位东部高管表示，“但我们能不能别表现得好像这不是劳资谈判的结果？它确实起到了劝阻非必要健康轮休的作用。”
尽管过去几天对该规定有很多抱怨，但有一件事似乎是肯定的：今年夏天或短期内它不会改变。
“人们忽略的一点是，这关乎成就，”另一位高管说，“成就的一部分就是保持健康打完赛季，并足够幸运地避免不幸发生。”
“我不认为设定一个参加80%比赛的门槛是不公平的。”
温德霍斯特： 亚当·萧华 (Adam Silver) 还明确表示，并不百分之百保证会扩军，或者联盟一定会增加西雅图和拉斯维加斯两支球队。但在过去六个月里与几位老板谈论扩军后，几乎可以肯定这两个城市都会增加球队。
两三年前还坚决反对扩军的老板们现在已经改变了观点。为什么？不管别人根据经济、世界局势或联盟受欢迎程度说什么或分析什么，联盟得到的关于美国扩军以及欧洲筹备中的卫星联赛的兴趣反馈据说是非常强劲的。联盟正在告诉潜在的利益相关者和竞标者，从拉斯维加斯到米兰，到处都有排队竞标的团体。
联盟相信有海量的资本准备涌入，事实上，亿万富翁以及——在欧洲的情况下——主权财富基金，将竞相入股。任何对负面影响的担忧，如人才稀释或摆烂增加，在30位球队老板即将获得的横财面前都退居二线。萧华和他的副手们并非圣人，但在处理大额资金事务方面，他们的成功率非常高。
邦坦普斯： 联盟成功率相当低的地方在于选秀抽签改革和遏制摆烂的努力。
自41年前为了遏制摆烂而制定最初版本的抽签制度以来，NBA 经历了多次变革，但联盟的“逐底竞争”反复成为争议话题。
萧华曾两次尝试对此采取行动。他在接任总裁后，最初在十多年前未能通过抽签改革，直到2019年选秀前才成功平摊了抽签概率。
在联盟各界人士看来，这一决定失败了。十年前，有四五支球队倾向于摆烂。现在我们每年都能看到八到十支球队在全明星赛后就提前放弃，试图提高他们的抽签几率，并产出日益糟糕的比赛质量。
在私下交谈中，没有人——无论是 NBA 总部的人员、球迷还是30支球队的成员——对目前的现状感到满意。这就是为什么萧华一再表示，在2026-27赛季之前，抽签系统将发生重大变化。
但多位联盟和球队官员公开或私下都认为，这个问题没有简单直接的解决办法。看看5月份董事会的特别会议会产生什么结果将很有趣，联盟表示届时将公布任何变化，以便让球队为下赛季做好准备。
令人惊讶的是，萧华周三表示他是一个渐进主义者，并且需要对激励结构进行根本性的改变——他在同一个回答中说了这两点，甚至提到了未来可能修改劳资协议来尝试解决这个问题。
因此，虽然萧华确实说过联盟将“彻底解决这个问题”，但做起来会更加困难。
健康状况继续定义东部季后赛竞争
邦坦普斯： 虽然坎宁安的缺阵和杰森·塔图姆 (Jayson Tatum) 的持续复苏（在周三波士顿战胜俄克拉荷马城的比赛中，他得到19分、12个篮板、7次助攻和3次抢断）占据了焦点，但整个东部联盟的伤病更新远不止于此。
马克斯·斯特鲁斯 (Max Strus) 终于完成了他期待已久的回归，回到了克利夫兰骑士队，在他们试图在季后赛前恢复完整阵容时，为侧翼提供了额外的助力。迈阿密热火队正在努力研究如何让诺曼·鲍威尔 (Norman Powell) 和泰勒·希罗 (Tyler Herro) 在经历了一个充满伤病的南佛罗里达赛季后产生化学反应，这一过程遇到了不少困难。
而在费城，保罗·乔治 (Paul George) 和乔尔·恩比德 (Joel Embiid) 在周三主场大胜芝加哥公牛队的比赛中复出。乔治表示他手术后的膝盖感觉很好，他和恩比德在周三的54分钟内合砍63分，尽管对手是一支摆烂球队。
“恩比德能回来，而且在很大程度上看起来像没缺席过比赛一样，这太了不起了，”一位西部球探说，“这说明了他有多么出色。”
更有积极意义的伤病消息是，泰瑞斯·马克西 (Tyrese Maxey) 和凯利·乌布雷 (Kelly Oubre Jr.) 预计很快也会加入他们。
当马克西在3月7日遭受手指伤病并导致他长期缺阵时，乌布雷和恩比德都因伤缺席，而乔治正处于25场禁赛期中。当时，费城的每个人都私下接受了现实：只要在常规赛结束前不滑落到第10名就行，希望所有人都能健康回归参加附加赛，然后努力打进去，看看会发生什么。
进入4月，情况看起来大不相同。由于魔术队尤其是热火队的挣扎，费城发现自己排名第七，距离东部第五仅差一场。
“如果健康”的标签仍将牢牢贴在 76 人队的名单上。但 76 人相信，当阵容完整时，他们可以与任何球队竞争。
“如果我们的人员整齐，”一位 76 人队官员说，“我们喜欢自己的机会。”
“他们可以击败克利夫兰，”那位西部球探说，“[骑士]一直没有贾勒特·阿伦 (Jarrett Allen)，而他之前和詹姆斯·哈登 (James Harden) 配合得非常好，所以这改变了情况，但他们感觉是[东部前四中]最容易被击败的。”
温德霍斯特： 骑士队希望阿伦能在本周末回归，他因膝盖肌腱炎缺席了10场比赛；而斯特鲁斯在因左脚琼斯骨折缺席了赛季前67场比赛后已经回归。理论上，这支球队终于应该在季后赛拥有预想的首发阵容了。
自交易来哈登后，骑士队的战绩为14胜4负，但这个数字受到了赛程中轻松赛段的加成，并掩盖了他们目前最大的潜在问题：防守。自交易截止日的动作（还包括从萨克拉门托国王队得到丹尼斯·施罗德 (Dennis Schroder) 和基恩·埃利斯 (Keon Ellis)）以来，骑士队的防守排名仅为令人失望的第19位。他们的进攻表现出色，排名第三，但主教练肯尼·阿特金森 (Kenny Atkinson) 在本周战胜挣扎中的魔术队后，公开表达了他的担忧。
“阿伦的回归会有所帮助，但问题不止于此，”一位东部球探说，“他们似乎不是只有一个问题，不同的问题会轮番出现。有时他们在退防中很松懈，有时他们在比赛中毫无对抗性，会在掩护中被挡死，有时他们看起来像是在泥浆中奔跑，试图扑向射手。”
骑士队拥有东部剩余赛程中第二轻松的赛程，但在他们带着高期望进入季后赛之际，胜负的重要性次于他们的竞技状态。
“我确信肯尼希望他们在全员齐整的情况下找到一些节奏，”这位球探说，“他们还有时间。”
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：NBA intel: Spurs title buzz grows among execs, coaches, scouts
NBA intel: Spurs title buzz grows among execs, coaches, scouts
The Oklahoma City Thunder concluded their longest road trip of the season – five games across 10 days – with a loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. It was the Thunder’s first loss in a month, but the defending champs boarded their jet home with only a two-game lead atop the Western Conference.
That’s because the San Antonio Spurs, who also won Wednesday night, are a remarkable 23-2 since Feb. 1, leaving them right on Oklahoma City’s heels – and while also holding the tiebreaker thanks to a 4-1 edge in the season series. Despite their own stellar 15-2 mark since the All-Star break, the Thunder simply can’t break away, underscoring one of the biggest questions coaches, scouts, executives and players are asking:
Can a team full of 20-somethings and a coach in his first full season at the helm shock the world?
That doesn’t mean just passing OKC in the standings. Or even winning the conference finals. League insiders are wondering if Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs can secure what would be one of the most shocking titles ever, an accomplishment that would buck the entire history of the league.
Jump to intel:
Spurs will cause ‘full-on nightmares’
Expansion, tanking, more from BOG
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Why Wemby and the Spurs are changing minds
Brian Windhorst: I was at a meal before a game last week and watching the Spurs play on TV with a veteran Eastern Conference scout. We watched Wembanyama swat a shot at one end and then beat nearly everyone down the floor and finish the sequence with a dunk.
“They’re my favorite now,” the scout told ESPN. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it. His game is going to be even more dominant in the playoffs and every game he’s going to get more and more into your head. In Game 1, your players will think about him on some of their shots. By Game 4, they’ll be having full-on nightmares.”
The scout isn’t alone in his view. We kept asking around the league about the Spurs’ chances – and we kept finding believers.
Tim Bontemps: And rightly so. One source after another who I spoke to this week praised the Spurs – beyond the obvious nightly brilliance Wembanyama provides.
“They’re a very good team,” an executive whose team has played San Antonio recently said. "They’re very well-coached. They’re very well put together. The combination of the group of guys they have is impressive.
“And Victor is absolutely unguardable.”
Windhorst: The lack of experience is a catchall comment you often hear in the playoffs. But it absolutely matters. Reacting to the ups and downs, understanding the depth of preparation needed and managing fatigue from a long series are qualities that can’t be simulated during an 82-game regular season. But…
“Everyone says they don’t have experience, but they have a lot more than anyone gives them credit for,” one East executive said of the Spurs. "Harrison Barnes and Luke Kornet have championship rings. De’Aaron Fox is one of the league’s best clutch players and he’s been in the playoffs.
“Do you think Victor is going to be intimidated by the moment? Good luck with that.”
Bontemps: The experience factor always comes up because teams simply do not skip steps when it comes to advancing in the NBA playoffs.
Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77, only the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers and 2008 Celtics went from missing the playoffs to winning the title the next season. But both of those teams aren’t great comparisons, as the Celtics traded for veteran Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen the prior summer, while the Blazers added another Hall of Famer, Maurice Lucas, in the offseason as part of the ABA dispersal draft.
The best historical comp for the Spurs might be the Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway-led Orlando Magic, who went from losing in the first round in 1994 to making the NBA Finals in 1995. Wembanyama is probably the best analog to a young Shaq rocking the rims for the Magic 30 years ago, and Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle are potential future star guards.
But even that team wound up getting swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in the Finals.
“History says it doesn’t happen this year, and projects against it,” a veteran scout said. “But they’re different. [Wembanyama] is different. It goes against all of my historical beliefs, but he’s generational.”
Windhorst: Let’s step back and recognize the Thunder challenge here. Regular-season success means little in the playoffs. Last year, the Celtics dominated the Knicks in the regular season, but no one cared when they went to Boston and got up 2-0. The Thunder have routinely demonstrated their ability to react to pressure and rely on different role players to deliver in playoff series. They’re 141-37 including playoffs over the past two seasons. Surely, that has got to be considered here.
“That’s fine, but you realize that Victor can take away their biggest weapon,” a West coach said. "When games are close Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] gets to his spot at the elbows and kills you with his midrange jumper or gets you to foul him. Well Victor has a f—ing 8-foot wingspan and he can defend that jumper and the rim at the same time and be far enough away that Shai can’t draw contact from him.
“Shai says he’s got the answers to the test. Well he’s right, but Victor breaks all the rules.”
One more thing that was pointed out to me:
“Let’s say Denver gets the No. 4 seed,” a West executive said. “That’s what our internal projections have. What happens if that’s a seven-game [series] again? That’s not the greatest draw for OKC. [The Nuggets] could wear them out even if they beat them again.”
Bontemps: It’s also worth pointing out another potential issue. While the Spurs have massive positional size across the board, their biggest Achilles heel in the playoffs could wind up being their lack of shooting.
Their three dynamic guards – De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper – are all below average 3-point shooters. When teams get into the playoffs and get a chance to game plan for San Antonio, expect them to double off Castle, in particular, and force him to make shots.
Those are the kinds of things that, across an 82-game regular season, don’t come up too often. But in the heart of a playoff series, dealing with and overcoming those adjustments can be the difference between advancing and falling short.
What’s next after an eventful board of governors meeting?
Bontemps: This week’s conclave of team owners in New York City focused on league expansion and the flood of money and jobs coming into the NBA. But the biggest hot-button issue is the 65-game rule for end-of-season awards in the wake of Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham suffering a collapsed lung that removed him from the MVP and All-NBA races but should have him back in time for the playoffs. (The 65-game rule does have an exception for season-ending injuries, but only if a player has reached 62 games played. Cunningham is at 60.)
There has been a lot of grumbling about the rule in recent days. The National Basketball Players Association, which agreed to the rule when it was implemented in 2023, is planning a counterproposal. Agent Jeff Schwartz, Cunningham’s representative from Excel Sports Management, and some media members have been clamoring for the rule change.
But something has flown under the radar this season: The rule is working.
As Silver pointed out Wednesday, star participation is up after years of negative headlines about the league’s highest-profile players sitting out games.
“I think the 65-game rule has obviously had unintended consequences and needs to be looked at,” an East executive said. “But can we stop acting like it wasn’t collectively bargained for? It works to dissuade otherwise healthy rest.”
For all of the complaints about the rule over the past few days, one thing seems certain: It won’t be changing this summer, or anytime soon.
“The thing people miss about this is that it’s about achievement,” another executive said. "Part of that achievement is making it through the season healthy and being lucky enough to avoid something unfortunate happening.
“I don’t think setting a bar of playing 80% of the games to get there is unfair.”
Windhorst: Silver also made it clear it isn’t 100% guaranteed there will be expansion or that the league adds Seattle and Las Vegas. But after talking to several owners about expansion over the past six months, it’s virtually assured that franchises will be added in both cities.
There were owners who were firmly against expansion two to three years ago who have changed their viewpoints. Why? Regardless of what anyone might say or analyze based on the economy, world events or the league’s popularity, the feedback the league is getting on the interest in expansion in the U.S. and in Europe for that coming satellite league is said to be robust. The league is telling potential stakeholders and potential bidders that they have groups lined up to make bids everywhere from Vegas to Milan.
The league believes there’s an ocean of capital ready to flow into the league, that in fact billionaires and – in the case of Europe – sovereign wealth funds, will be competing to buy in. Any concern about downsides, such as the dilution of talent or increase in tanking, takes a backseat to the windfalls the 30 team owners are in line to get. Silver and his lieutenants are not infallible, but when it comes to handling big-money matters, their batting average is very high.
Bontemps: Where the league’s batting average is quite low is on lottery reform and on its efforts to curb tanking.
Since enacting the original version of the lottery in an attempt to curb tanking 41 years ago, the NBA has gone through several variations, only for the league’s race to the bottom to repeatedly come up as a controversial topic.
Silver has tried to do something about it twice. He initially failed more than a decade ago after becoming commissioner to enact lottery changes before succeeding in flattening the lottery odds ahead of the 2019 draft.
That decision has failed in the eyes of sources around the league. A decade ago, four or five teams were leaning into the act of tanking. Now we are annually seeing eight to 10 teams shutting things down after the All-Star break to try to improve their lottery chances and putting out an increasingly poor product.
In private conversations, no one – denizens of NBA headquarters, fans or members of any of the 30 teams – is happy with the current setup. That’s why Silver has repeatedly said there are extensive changes coming to the lottery system ahead of 2026-27.
But several league and team officials, publicly and privately, have agreed there is not a clean simple fix to this issue. It will be interesting to see what will come out of the special session of the board of governors in May, when the league has said it will unveil any changes to prepare teams for next season.
It was striking to hear Silver say Wednesday that he’s an incrementalist and that fundamental changes to the incentive structure need to happen – and to say both of those things in the same answer, and even to bring up potential CBA changes down the road to try to fix the problem.
So while Silver did say the league is going to “fix this – full stop,” doing so is going to be more difficult.
Health continues to define the East playoff race
Bontemps: While the absence of Cunningham and the continued comeback for Jayson Tatum (he had 19 points,12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in Boston’s win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday) have taken the spotlight, the injury updates across the conference don’t end there.
Max Strus finally made his long-awaited return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving them an extra boost on the wing as they try to get themselves whole ahead of the postseason. The Miami Heat are trying to figure out how to get Norman Powell and Tyler Herro working together after a season full of injuries in South Florida, a process that’s had plenty of speed bumps.
And in Philadelphia, Paul George and Joel Embiid returned Wednesday in an emphatic home victory against the Chicago Bulls. George said his surgically repaired knee feels great, and he and Embiid combined for 63 points in 54 minutes Wednesday, albeit against a tanking team.
“It’s remarkable that Embiid can come back and, for the most part, look like he hasn’t missed any time,” a West scout said. “It shows just how talented he is.”
And in even more positive injury news, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. are expected to join them soon.
When Maxey suffered a finger injury on March 7 that sidelined him for an extended period, Oubre and Embiid were out with injuries and George was in the middle of a 25-game suspension. At the time, everyone in Philadelphia was privately resigned to the plan of simply avoiding a slide to 10th before the end of the regular season, hoping to have everyone back healthy for the play-in and try to win their way in and see what happens.
Things look remarkably different heading into April. Thanks to struggles from the Magic and Heat, in particular, Philadelphia finds itself in seventh, just one game out of fifth in the East standings.
The “if healthy” tag will remain firmly affixed to the Sixers roster. But the 76ers believe they can compete with any team when whole.
“If we have our guys,” one 76ers team official said, “we like our chances.”
“They could beat Cleveland,” the West scout said. “[The Cavs] haven’t had Jarrett Allen, and he was playing really well with James Harden, so that changes things, but they feel the most susceptible [among the top four in the East].”
Windhorst: The Cavs are hoping to get Allen back this weekend after he has missed 10 games with knee tendinitis after getting Strus back after he missed the first 67 games of the season recovering from a Jones fracture in his left foot. In theory, the team should have its intended starting lineup in place for the postseason at long last.
The Cavs are 14-4 since trading for Harden but that number is boosted by soft sections of the schedule and covers their biggest underlying problem right now, which is their defense. Since their trade deadline moves, which also included acquiring Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis from the Sacramento Kings, the Cavs rank a quite disappointing 19th in defense. They’ve been awesome offensively, ranking third, but coach Kenny Atkinson went public with his concerns after a victory over the struggling Magic this week.
“Allen coming back will help them, but it’s more than that,” an East scout said. “They don’t seem to have one issue, different things pop up. Sometimes they’re lax in transition defense, sometimes they have games where they have no physicality and will just die on screens and sometimes they will look like they’re running in mud trying to get out to shooters.”
The Cavs have the East’s second-easiest remaining schedule but wins and losses are less important than their form as they enter the postseason with high expectations.
“I’m sure Kenny is hoping for them to get some rhythm at full strength,” the scout said. “They still have time.”
By Tim Bontemps, Brian Windhorst | ESPN, via ESPN