CHICAGO - Daryl Morey fled Houston last October 15, just in time before the dumpster fire that engulfed the Rockets turned into a general alarm.
Less than a month later, the decorated GM and renowned analytics guru quickly landed a new gig when he was hired as president of the Philadelphia 76ers, a fresh start that he referred to as "a can't-miss opportunity."
Moments before the Sixers hosted the Lakers in Philly early today, Morey told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith about his team's lofty goals in this pandemic-plagued 2020-21 season.
"Title or bust," declared the 48-year old executive.
I was sipping a tall glass of dark brown adult beverage and toying with a bag of Oishi prawn crackers when I heard the bold statement.
And I immediately began choking.
I thought Morey was pandering to a new fan base. I thought he was reaching for the stars.
But a couple hours later, I decided that the thought of seeing the Sixers win the 2021 title is not an impossible dream.
Sixers 107. Lakers 106.
Playing their fourth road game since January 22 when they competed a midwest swing through Milwaukee, Chicago and Cleveland, a case can be made that the Lakers were road weary.
But the alibi doesn't fly because the Lakers were off the night before and LeBron James and Anthony Davis both brought their A games by combining for 37 points, 14 and eight assists.
So this big W, which lifted the Sixers atop the East standings at 13-6 is legit. Unaided by neither load management nor an opposing team's foul troubles.
This is the part of the column where diehard, dream harder Sixers fans like Noli Eala can start getting giddy.
Damn, those Sixers are terrific.
Their defensive rating is 5th in the NBA and they score 113.4 points per, which is plenty considering the consistency they have shown in stopping the other side.
AND JOEL EMBIID IS FRONT AND CENTER OF THE NEWFOUND SURGE.
After having seen more foot issues than a podiatrist, the 7-foot, 280-pound All-Star is healthy this season and gladly carries all that intimidating weight around the league.
He has appeared in 15 of the Sixers' 19 games and has averaged 27.7 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per. But the real joy here is that he is logging 32 minutes an outing.
After trading 6-foot-9, 240-pound Al Horford, the Sixers got rid of some clutter and unclogged the lanes for Embiid to work his magic. And with shooters Seth Curry and Danny Green inserted in the starting unit, Philly now has a vaunted inside-out attack.
Ben Simmons is really, really, good. And that's no BS.
Yeah, he can't shoot. But you don't ask a veterinarian to operate on a human being, do you?
The point here is that any type of shooting isn't in Simmons' job description. He runs the team offense and he is spectacular at what he is required to do - eight assists and 8.6 rebounds an outing - while contributing a modest 13 points a game.
And Tobias Harris, much maligned for his five-year $180 million deal, is finally living up to that massive contract by scoring 20.1 points a game while making 46.1 percent of his 3s.
For a lack of a better word, the Sixers bench is kind of suspect. But Shake Milton sounds great to me.
It's only January and a long way from the NBA Finals sometime in August. But it's never too early to dream big.
As my dear wife once told me:
Hindi bawal ang mangarap.
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