The Philadelphia 76ers took down the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, 105-99. Normally, this wouldn’t be huge news, as it’s just one Eastern Conference team taking down another squad out east in the middle of February.
But normally, we don’t see NBA players guarantee wins over opponents during games in … well, we usually just don’t see it. But Nic Batum was so confident in his teammates that, prior to Monday’s game, he said “We’re going to win this game on Monday. We will.”
Batum was also asked if he was guaranteeing a win over Philly, to which he responded “Yeah.” So of course, the Sixers won, because basketball always finds a way to humble people who are overconfident.
After the game, Sixers guard T.J. McConnell – who scored 14 points, dished seven assists, and hauled in four rebounds in the win – went onto television and let everyone know that the team heard Batum’s guarantee. He also made a statement when he told the world that “If you guarantee stuff, you better back it up.”
This is awesome. You could get away with guaranteeing a win against the Sixers over the last few years, but Philly has been dangerous this year and it’s not a good idea to guarantee a victory, even when Joel Embiid is out. McConnell’s quote highlighted that this year’s Sixers team is different than in the past, especially when he said “You’re not gonna overlook us. We’re not a guaranteed victory for the other team.”
Philly is playing with confidence. The Sixers are probably not going to make the postseason barring a massive run, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.
