Philadelphia 76ers: How far could Joel Embiid take Philadelphia?
How far can Joel Embiid take the Philadelphia 76ers?
Through the first 15 games of the season – which is nearly a quarter for this year’s 72-game regular season – you could make a strong argument that the Philadelphia 76ers have been the most consistent team in the Eastern Conference – and that includes the world-beating potential of the Brooklyn Nets.
One of the biggest reasons why the Sixers have been so consistent this season is Joel Embiid, who might be the favorite in the NBA MVP race thus far. Embiid has the Sixers sitting at 10-5 and in first place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Embiid has been the leader that the Sixers have been missing over the past couple of seasons, and Doc Rivers has helped tap that potential out of the perennial all-star.
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In this fifth season with Philadelphia, Embiid is averaging 26 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists on a career-high 55 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. He’s also on pace to finish the season with a career-high PER (player efficiency rating) of 29.79.
He’s helped catapult the Sixers to the top of the conference and has this team playing like a legit contender to potentially challenge the likes of the Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Boston Celtics. The big question for this team is whether relying on Embiid will be enough during the postseason.
Especially in the changing NBA, it’ll be interesting to see how far a big can carry a team. I’m not sure I can remember when somewhat of a traditional big was the best team on a championship contender – perhaps you can make a case for Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in last year’s playoff run, but they’re not in that position without the excellent play of Jamal Murray.
The Sixers might be in unprecedented waters at the moment. Even though Ben Simmons has been good-to-great, depending on who you ask, there’s no question that this team will go as far as Joel Embiid can take them.
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The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a great start and Joel Embiid is on pace to be a legit contender in the NBA’s MVP race for the entire season. Is that enough to make the Sixers a true contender in the Eastern Conference, or is their hot start to the season a bit of a mirage?