3. Philadelphia 76ers
Key additions: Wilson Chandler (trade), Mike Muscala (trade)
Key losses: Justin Anderson (trade), Marco Belinelli (FA), Richaun Holmes (trade), Ersan Ilyasova (FA)
THE PROCESS IS ALMOST COMPLETE.
As recent as 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers were contending for the worst season ever.
In 2019, they will be contending for a championship.
Getting Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons on the court changed everything. The two young phenoms complement each other wonderfully and give Philly the best 1-2 punch the East has to offer. In their first year together, the duo won 52 games, a 42 game improvement from two seasons back.
Hoops Habit
While many say the pairing reminds them of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the Showtime Lakers in the early ’80s, they remind me more of the Penny Hardaway-Shaquille O’Neal pairing on the mid ’90s Orlando Magic teams. Simmons is a transcendent talent who was given the gift of passing only Magic, LeBron, and Bird possessed at a similar size. His athleticism is off the charts and he combines it with his 6’10 frame and IQ to make him an All-NBA calibre defender at age 21. Truthfully, if Hardaway grew five inches, took a bottle of anabolic steroids, and was drafted last June, you would have something like Ben Simmons. The sky is the limit for the ’18 rookie of the year. He has the potential to be the best player in the league if he finds a consistent jump shot.
Embiid is the Shaq to Simmons’ Penny. Like Shaq, the only thing bigger than his size is his personality, and his talent doesn’t lack far behind. Remarkably, the native of Cameroon, Africa, only started playing basketball six years ago. The history of 7-footers with major foot injuries is far from promising for Embiid’s career moving forward (see: Yao Ming, Bill Walton, Greg Oden, for example), but if he can just stay on the court I think he can get to another level we’ve yet to see. He’s already one of basketball’s twelve best players with lots of room to grow.
As he continues to expand both his inside and outside game, Embiid will become close to unstoppable. If he stays healthy he should be a perennial All-Star and his team should contend for the next five to seven years. And if there were any concerns regarding his off the court antics, take a look at his first two seasons next to Hakeem Olajuwon‘s (who was actually the same age).
Rounding out the 76ers core is Robert Covington, Dario Saric, J.J. Redick, and Markelle Fultz. Covington is one of the league’s most underrated players – he was eighth overall in ESPN’s real plus minus last season. At 6’8 with great defensive instincts, he can effectively cover four positions and shoots the 3 really well. He’s sort of like Shane Battier reincarnated.
Saric is a really good shooter and playmaker with good size. He doesn’t get many steals or blocks but is laterally quick, is a good defensive rebounder, and is very unselfish. He complements Simmons and Embiid nicely.
While he mysteriously hired El Chapo’s intelligence committee for the first 80% of last season, Fultz showed flashes of brilliance and is only a year removed from being the first overall pick. He has looked great in offseason workouts and claims to have fixed his jumper. Philadelphia was as good as anyone in the East last year without him – if he can take some sort of a step forward, he could be the difference in a seven game series with Boston or Toronto.
It is shaping up to be another eventful year in Philly. They are perhaps only a star or two taking the leap away from being the undisputed best team in the East. The bench is a little thin, but their upper echelon talent is the best in the Conference. They could very well make the Finals in what would be one of sports’ most remarkable turnarounds of the 21st century.
76ers projected record: 56-26
76ers chances of making the playoffs: 95%
76ers chances of winning the East: 25%