Philadelphia 76ers are destined for an early playoff exit and a teardown

As the Philadelphia 76ers continue to struggle, it’s looking more and more like this team could be in line for an early playoff exit and a teardown

The Philadelphia 76ers may have two of the 15 best players in the NBA right now, but they’ve been extremely disappointing this season.

After their blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night it seems right to label this team a mess. You could say “oh well Joel Embiid got hurt and Ben Simmons didn’t play” and that is true. The Cavs are one of the worst teams in the league and they just fired their coach so they are not exactly a stable bunch.

Even without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, it should have been an easy win for the Sixers. They still had Al Horford, Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson. Instead, they allowed the Cavs to have control of the whole game and hand Philly their 21st road loss of the season.

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This might be the most overt form of foreshadowing out there and something to remember in April if the Sixers are bounced early in the playoffs. They are 5th in the East and are 9-21 on the road this season.

Many of these road losses are absolutely head-scratching. The Milwaukee Bucks, the team that sits atop the Eastern Conference, is absolutely feasting on teams both at home and on the road. When you look at the talent on both rosters, you can’t help but wonder what has gone wrong in Philly.

The Sixers are 0-7 in their last seven road games, losing to both the Atlanta Hawks and Cavs over that span, so it’s hard to paint how exactly this team will win a playoff series in April if they don’t have homecourt advantage.

The team on all levels is failing; while the injury bug certainly hasn’t helped matters – both Ben Simmons (back) and Joel Embiid (shoulder) are expected to miss some time – this team has failed to fit together. Embiid and Simmons might not be an ideal duo and their supporting cast has left much to be desired.

Al Horford has struggled when on the floor with Embiid and while Tobias Harris has his moments, he isn’t a primary star that will win on the biggest of stages.

That leads to the next issue, the management of this team has been less than ideal.

Elton Brand and the Sixers’ brain trust have formed a team of misfit toys. A team with no chemistry, no cohesion, and no toughness. Time after time the front office moves post-Sam Hinkie have been head-scratching. From signing Wilson Chandler when they had cap room for a max contract to when they traded Markelle Fultz for nothing and then traded too much to get Tobias Harris. Which then led to them overpaying Harris this past summer right after they overpaid for Al Horford.

As questions abound around Brett Brown as the team’s head coach, you can’t help but wonder if that hiring will go down as another misstep from this front office.

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The Philadelphia 76ers are like that couple you know who are definitely going to break up but you still invite them out. Some nights it is great and everybody is having a good time. Then there are the bad nights and you feel like you will wake up to a text that they broke up. It will be interesting to see how this team looks when they eventually break it up.