The Philadelphia 76ers improved their toughness this offseason, but does a tougher Sixers team necessarily mean a better one?
After losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, there was a clear need for improvement heading into the offseason for the Philadelphia 76ers. What level of improvement was needed? That’s a good question. But the Sixers did have some flexibility heading into the summer.
Though, the big move never came for the Sixers. Instead of a splash-type move, the Sixers made a point this offseason of adding toughness to the roster. They did so by adding PJ Tucker (via free agency), De’Anthony Melton (via trade), Danuel House (via free agency), and Montrezl Harrell (via free agency).
Did the Philadephia 76ers get better?
For better or worse, each one of these offseason additions for the Sixers will add a level of toughness that was absent last season in Philadelphia. For as good as Joel Embiid and James Harden are, I’m not sure if toughness is an adjective that would be used by many to describe their games.
And in the second-round playoff series against the Heat, toughness is one of the intangibles that Miami took advantage of many times during that matchup.
Heading into the 2022-23 NBA season, if the Sixers falter it won’t be because of a lack of toughness.
However, the big question for the Sixers is whether a “tougher” team means a better one. And that’s not a foregone conclusion. The Sixers did get tougher but they’ll have to see that toughness make a difference once the games begin.
The good news is that the Sixers have elite top-tier talent with Embiid and Harden, and a strong secondary supporting core of Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. They also added the necessary toughness around their core four.
It remains to be seen whether the Sixers got better during the offseason but it appears they decided to try and fill the holes surrounding their intangibles over making a rash move that may not even be necessary.