I’m honestly confused. For whatever reason, time and time again we continue to see talking heads in the national media criticize the Philadelphia 76ers and more specifically, the Joel Embiid – James Harden duo.

Earlier this week, watched Michelle Beadle (yeah it’s been a while since we heard that name, I know) and some guy named Jason McIntyre say borderline psychotic things about the Sixers.

Now, on the same show where Jason McIntyre was running his mouth, Ric Bucher decided to share his opinions on the Sixers in regards to where they currently rank in the Eastern Conference.

Ric Bucher on the Philadelphia 76ers

In the clip, Bucher said the 76ers are “currently a six” on where they rank in the Eastern Conference.

“No, they are not. On a scale of 1-10, I’m going to give you a 6. Let’s slow down a bit and wait until they play the Cavs and Heat before we anoint the Sixers as the team to beat in the East.”

Bucher then continued to give four reasons why he landed at six.

1. The 76ers took a step back in title contention after James Harden trade.
2. Finals teams have a Top 5 Net Rating and right now the Philadelphia 76ers are behind four other teams in the Eastern Conference in that category. He then failed to even name the four teams ahead of the Sixers without fumbling through his words and looking off camera to find out who the teams were? Got it.
3. The third reason was Doc Rivers, which is a valid reason given his history in the playoffs but we all know that already.
4. His fourth reason was because the 76ers have only played three games with James Harden. lol.

Jeez. I don’t even know where to begin. We’ll let Bucher continue his dumb rant, which he continued on Twitter, replying to users asking what the hell he was talking about.

James Harden coming to Philadelphia completely changed the makeup of the Philadelphia 76ers. Even with Ben Simmons, we had a point guard who wouldn’t shoot the basketball. That caused a log-jam inside the three point line any time Simmons brought the ball up the floor.

With Harden, that has clearly changed. He’s a threat to shoot from anywhere on the court and attracts defenders. If an opposing team is stupid enough to double Embiid, that would mean that someone is now wide open for the Sixers. The pick and roll, transition offense, and dribble-handoffs has been a force to be reckoned with over the past three games.

This is clear as day. We all know exactly what we are getting with James Harden. He’s not an unproven NBA talent. He’s a veteran that’s already considered in the Top 75 best NBA players of all time. Three games means absolutely nothing at this point and to use that as a reason why the 76ers are sixth at best in the East is just stupid.

Doc Rivers is the only somewhat valid point made by Bucher, but with Harden commanding the floor and providing a consistent offensive threat, it takes a lot of pressure off Rivers and the rest of the 76ers coaching staff.

The reality is, after Bucher saw McIntyre get a few seconds of social media fame with his dumb takes on the 76ers, he decided to join in on the action today by saying even more ridiculous things. We see this marketing strategy all the time, both on the national and local level (WIP Sports Talk Radio).

Credit to Bucher and McIntyre for being opportunists, but literally for nothing else.

The Sixers have beaten the Bulls more than a few times already this year. They have beaten the Cavs as well. Before the All-Star break, they beat the Bucks on their home court. Oh, and they have beaten the Heat on the second leg of a back-to-back earlier this season too.

Like I said at the start of this article, I’m generally confused on where all of the criticism is coming from in the media about the 76ers while Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets seemingly have gone unscathed.

Simmons is still not playing and new reports indicate he won’t play until April. The Sixers have been downright dominant since Harden took the court and 76ers fans are super excited after months of Ben Simmons bullshit. Of course everyone is optimistic. If you watched any of the last three games with Harden, Embiid, and Maxey, it’s not hard to understand why.

Keep the hate and fraud takes coming. We’ll keep laughing while the Sixers are blowing out teams over the final few months of the NBA season.

Mandatory Credit: FOX Sports