I am introducing a new column that I will definitely stick with this time. Every week I want to cover three stories that I found interesting to me. This way Duo and One can provide provide their takes on things they want to cover but then I can also have a say about what I think as well. I think it is kind of weird that we have had a site called "Tres's Three Pointers" and we do not have any sort of column or exclusive feature that uses the name. Enough with a preamble though, let's get right into the inaugural "Tres's Three Pointers", starring the 76ers, Captain Marvel, and Game of Thrones. These are all very popular, click-baity topics so why not start with some big hitters.
1) All season long in the NBA there has been a consensus among fans and writers that the Celtics have been a major disappointment and are a team waiting to combust. From an expectations point of view, the Celtics have certainly let everyone down. Their projected Over/Under win total to start the season was 59 wins and to date they have 42 which means they will not reach that total as of now. However, I do not really want to talk about the Celtics struggles today. We can save that for later, plus so many people have already talked about their problems. I really do not have anything new to add to the story. Instead, I want to use the discussion about the Celtics as a pivoting point to examine how the 76ers have been getting a free pass all season long in the national media despite having a mediocre season just like the Celtics.
As of today the 76ers have 43 wins; this is only one more than the Celtics. They were projected, according to Westgate, to win about 54 games (the books open at 54.5 and closed at 53.5) and 76ers are currently on pace to finish with less wins than that. Last year they won 52 games with a significantly worse roster from top to bottom. Perhaps they won more games last year because they had better chemistry or perhaps we should expect teams to consistently make jumps every year. I would agree with both of those premises, but, if we apply those standards to the 76ers then we need to apply them to Boston as well and just realize that we expected too much of them this season. However, I do not think that the win/loss total is as much of a reason to worry about the 76ers as their performance within those games has been. The 76ers, frankly, have had bad home losses, bad road losses, and do not look like a team that knows they will all be together next year. They have also had too many moving pieces throughout the year via trades, which like the Celtics, means they have too many players for too few roster spots. They have traded depth for star power which will eventually come to hurt them in the playoffs and, like the Celtics could lead to an early exit.
First, let us begin with the 76ers bad losses. The 76ers have lost to the Cavaliers at home, the Hawks at home (before they started playing well), the Magic, and the Bulls a week ago on the road because of a blown defensive assignment. They have also lost to the Celtics every time they have played them this year which does not bode well if they have to play the Celtics in round 1 of the playoffs this year. The loss to the Cavaliers is especially bad because the Cavaliers have only beat two other above .500 teams on the road this year. A game like that at home is simply a game you cannot lose if you want to be considered an NBA contender. Yes, you could counter this by saying the Warriors have had bad home losses this year. I would remind you though that the Warriors have proven that they do not care about the regular season and that they can turn it on and beat anyone in the playoffs. The 76ers have yet to prove that. These losses are all inexcusable if you want to be a team who is supposed to be getting better each year.
Side note: I am surprised how often teams do not know when they are switching or not on defense.
Secondly, because of their moving pieces, the 76ers have struggled defensively and I am not sure if they can figure everything out that they need to with less than 15 games left in the regular season. Last year, the 76ers ranked 3rd in defensive rating at 103.8. This year they have dropped off and are now at a 107.8, 10th in the league. Across the board, defensive ratings for teams are down for every team, but as encapsulated by the 76ers loss to the Bulls, this team is still struggling with basic defensive assignments like who stays with the ball or who leaves.
Finally, it is no secret that Jimmy Butler has struggled to fit in with the 76ers on offense. His 3-point shooting, which wasn't great to begin with, has dipped to just above 33% with the 76ers, about 4 percentage points less than with the Timberwolves. His usage rate has also dropped 3% points as a result. This is ultimately because Ben Simmons is the ball-dominant point guard for this team and Jimmy Butler is just better when he has the ball in his hand than when he does not. Unlike Tobias Harris who is a great catch and shoot player, Jimmy Butler's strengths are in his shot creation and defense. Because of that, I do not think he will stay with the 76ers after this season because he just does not seem to fit in long term with the team. This is just another problem the 76ers will face during the playoffs this season. This also ties in to their well documented spacing problems because Ben Simmons cannot shoot and Joel Embiid is a below average 3-point shooter. This puts a ton of offensive pressure on J.J. Reddick to create spacing for them which will be a difficult task for multiple series in a row at his age. Additionally, will Jimmy Butler have one foot out the door or will he play even harder because of his desire for a big contract this offseason? These are some interesting questions that I will hopefully get the answer to.
While this season has not been at all a failure for the 76ers, we still need to look at it realistically for all the good and bad that they have had. The Celtics have been getting bashed repeatedly for their poor play and rightly so. I just think we need to be careful about dismissing the Celtics when the 76ers have had many struggles in their own rights this year. If you take one thing away from all of this though, I want you to know that it does not seem likely that either the Celtics or the 76ers will win the East. I would bet on Milwaukee or Toronto.
2) Captain Marvel was really good! While it was a little chaotic at points, some shots were weird, and it felt rushed towards the end, it was a fun action movie that really fit into the MCU as a whole and helped add color to many characters and parts of the universe that were previously black and white. This point will not be a Captain Marvel review though. I will save that for Duo to write. I just think there are two important takeaways from this movie that were important to me.
One, this movie perfectly balanced, in my opinion, being an inspiring movie for women and being a fun MCU movie. This achievement worked on multiple levels. **(Spoilers I guess at this point)** The first level is that this movie was an exciting MCU action movie that tied in to Infinity War and had cameos and references that will satisfy Marvel fans of all ages. The second level, and I think the most important one, is what truly separated this movie. This movie told a story of heroism and strength because the movie sent the message to women of all ages that your emotions are a strength, not a weakness. At the beginning of the movie, Jude Law's character tells Carol Danvers that she need to control her emotions and not use them because they are a weakness. This scene immediately made me think of the new Nike Ad with Serena Williams that talks about women and how they emotions are portrayed as hysterical if they act out because of them. Women are taught to control their emotions in everyday life and if they cry or get angry they are seen as crazy. However, Captain Marvel uses this negative stereotype as a source of strength. Captain Marvel is ultimately able to save Earth because she lets go and uses her all out strength to defeat the enemies who threaten her loved ones. It reminded me of some of the best Superman stories I have read. They were not necessarily about how powerful he was but about his relationship and his human desire to save others. Like Capt. Marvel, he has alien blood in him but he still is an Earthling at heart. In many ways as well Marvel is both the opposite and the same. Marvel only remembers being an alien but she was raised on Earth and her trials there give her the strength she needs to save everyone. She combines that strength with the experience she learned as a combat soldier on Halla. Superman was raised on Earth which gave him incredible power and, although he is from Krypton, his real home is on Earth and he would do anything to protect it.
I am not making such a strong parallel to Superman unintentionally. Captain Marvel also made me think about how great a Superman movie done like this could be. You do not need to give him amnesia, just strip away his powers and make him focus on using the strength inside of him. Maybe strand him on an alien planet without the sun with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen which means he has to use creative ways to protect them. Then at the end of the movie, after surviving all of the trials and tribulations, he gets his powers back somehow and kicks an absurd amount of ass and saves the world. But having a movie that focuses on his human side and his vulnerabilities would make for a truly fascinating movie for me. Captain Marvel was able to take a hero that is unstoppable and make a movie about them that you care about. DC could do the same with Superman.
All I really have to say about this now is that they should make the episodes longer. I would watch a 2 hour episode each week if it the the writers needed that much time to tell their story. As along time fan and reader of the books (not to brag), Game of Thrones is my favorite TV show ever and I will be distraught when the season ends. I know there will be spin-offs and George R.R. Martin has not yet finished his story, I will just miss these current characters so much. It is going to be brutal to watch so many of them die, come back to live via the Night King, and then die again permanently. I just do not think I am ready for that emotionally. We will have more Game of Thrones coverage as the premiere date arrives. For now I just want to savor every moment we have left because April is going to be the best month ever.
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