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Nov 14Liked by Royce Webb

I truly do love these compilations. What I find fascinating about this one is how much ink and electrons were deployed in the media just four thin months ago, instructing us on the certainty that the 76ers had at last achieved exit velocity with the acquisition of Playoff Paul...and how the Celtics should be shaking like milk.

Now?

Well, let’s all just get cozy, grab a cappuccino, and talk about those Cavs and Warriors. I think I can help here to get us through our needed steps from anger and denial to acknowledgment and, ultimately, acceptance.

The biggest early plot twist - and there's still time to change the road your on as Robert has said - is the China Syndrome level meltdown brewing - not in Harrisburg, PA - but 100 miles east in the City of Brotherly Love. That plot line is already super interesting and could get a lot more so, very quickly.

I mean we're only a few pages in and we already have a League investigation, the star player giving a beat reporter a good ole Brotherly Shove, and the dials in the control room moving into the red at .182. Man, this is gettin' good. One juicy subplot is that the head of the utility - Josh - is spending a lot of his time in D.C. these days, and might be unaware of how bad it is.

Perhaps the best thing about these stories though is how they make you think differently about things. Like, maybe wildly overpaying to pair an oft-injured over 30 player with another oft-injured over 30 player isn't actually the best approach to roster construction even if every podcaster is calling you a genius. Maybe. I'm just thinking out loud here.

I know this much, I just can't wait to get to the future plot lines. Maybe they snag Harden again at the deadline to completely burn through those fuel rods as the utility tells everyone to stay calm and trust the process. Maybe. On the other hand, kudos to Quinn for alerting me early to a major character in all this that I completely missed on the first pass - Jared McCain.

In any event, buckle up and get those iodine pills ready if your anywhere near the 19148 zip code…

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