Philadelphia 76ers: 3 reasons to believe in Philadelphia in 2021

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Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports) /

Three reasons why you should believe in the Philadelphia 76ers heading into 2020-21

It’s October 2019, you’re not wearing a mask, you’re not standing six feet apart from your own mother as you reluctantly agree to make a pecan pie from scratch and bring it to your family’s Thanksgiving get together next month.

You’re a Philadelphia 76ers fan, the NBA season is approaching. You’ve got your throwback Allen Iverson jersey on, looking at the 76ers roster for the upcoming season and going, “This year… the rest of the Eastern Conference should have a quiver in their voice when they speak of us. WE ARE GOING TO DOMINATE!”

You’re talking yourself into the Harris deal, “We had to pay him! Other than Simmons & Embiid he’s our best player!” You’re telling yourself Jimmy Butler held “us” back last year. You’re convinced that Al Horford’s presence is just what Joel needs to unlock the next level to his game. You’re thinking Josh Richardson is going to shoot 38-40 percent from 3 and possibly guard every team’s best player.

Yourself, your uncle, and some of the experts are penciling in Philly to come out of the East, so of course, you drink the kool-aid. You go to work every day with a spring in your step, and in some instances skipping jollily to your mailbox.

Let’s move forward to early September 2020, your glasses are fogging up as you breathe with your mask on in the grocery store, and you’ve watched what you thought was a year-long episode of MTV’s Punk’d but turns out it was just the Philadelphia 76ers 2019-20 NBA season.

You’ve seen a slew of injuries, starting with Embiid then Simmons. You saw a great homecourt record and an alarmingly bad record on the road ending up with 43 wins, which is about 18-22 wins less than everyone thought they would have. You endured a pandemic, countless trade rumors, constant scrutiny, a first-round playoff exit, firing your coach and general manager, and just an overall disappointing season.

As disappointed as you may be during the course of last season, and how jaded you may be after seeing all that talent get you swept by Boston in round one, there’s still reason to be optimistic for the 2020-21 season.