Championship hopes

[elchengue20]

Last season i was really hyped in the playoffs, i tought we could win it all.

This season i don't see us as an contender. I think Ben and Embiid don't fit well together and are not leaders yet. Loosing Jimmy really hurt a lot. Replacing him with a terrible fit like Horford dindn't help either. Also I love Brett but he ain't good enough, he's a rebuilding coach, not a championship coach.



I wonder what it's the feeling here, maybe they are still people who see this team as a contender.

[Rastas]

There in with a chance , have beaten all teams above them.
76ers best scares everyone ,pretty sure no teams want to match up with Philly in the first couple of rounds.

[Kobblehead]

Not very high on this team's chances.

I think we could be potentially fielding our worst defensive unit since we began making the playoffs. Also, we still don't have a closer.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

^What Kobblehead said, no closer unless Shake Milton becomes a miracle, and a lazy defensive unit just isn't going to get it done. Now....If we actually played defense every possession like this team is capable of doing, i'd be saying something different. I disagree with Simmons and Embiid not being a good fit. I just don't think they are ready to take it to another level. One of them eventually has to become the voice of this team. Right now it's Embiid, but he's failed at times to back it up. I think that comes with the territory of being a young player that carries so much. If they can both stay healthy, I think it will happen sooner than later. These are the classic growing pains of a young up and coming team. I think the key moving forward is obviously health, but also an improved, more intense, more focused defense. If the playoffs somehow magically resume, I think we'll win a game or two, I think we can take Boston to seven games, but I don't see us advancing past the first round this year.

[76ciology]

Championship this year doesnt matter any way. If i want to win a championship, i want the one without the asterisk.

If ever, i see this as a preseason championship tournament for the 2020-2021 season

Just my take

[76ciology]

With regard to how this team would fare.

I think we’d be a much better team in the playoffs. It all really depends on Biid, he’s a wildcard during the playoffs. And if all the members of the team buy in to our system.

If we play as a team, we’d be as good as what 538 projects us to be before the season started.

[Kobblehead]

History books might even grant bigger achievement to winning a title this year. Instead of having diminished value, it might enhance the accomplishment.

The winner of this year's championship will have overcome a pandemic and outlasted the largest field of playoff teams in league history.

[Tony Franciosa]

I think we'll be healthy and strong going in and I think it's likely we advance very far depending on 2 things: 1) Embiid being IN SHAPE and staying healthy; and 2) Brett not mucking up rotations.

[youngcrev]

I don't think it's impossible that something clicks and the team ends up being "built for the playoffs" as their mantra suggests (aka their deflection of having a disappointing regular season). I also don't think it's likely. I certainly don't think it's the defense that's going to sink them though.

[Mik317]

with this team anything could happen lol.

we could get swept in the first or win it all.

no inbetween.

That being said unless Ben comes back with a jumper and a new mindset, we will probably cap out at either second round or a close first round loss...and hopefully major changes in the offseason. Tiger doesn't change its stripes yall. Team's flaws still exist

[Hussien Fatal]

A lot of it is on Joel and Ben, if Joel is 100% healthy come playoff time and Ben is still playing as he was before he got injured then they could beat Boston in the first round for sure. And they match up decently with the bucks. I believe they have championship Talent they just need everything to happen perfect for them.

[Negrodamus]

I think with Ben getting healthy we should be a solid contender. It's a pretty spread out year for the NBA, so, if nothing else, the playoff series should all be somewhat close. If we can figure out how to beat the Bucks, I think we can close out either LA team.

[Sixerscan]

I think they have a decent shot if they're healthy.

Really interested to see how the neutral court impacts things, won't have the same natural progression of a series we are used to. Wouldn't shock me if we saw more upsets than normal, a team coming back from 3-0 and so on. Obviously the Sixers crazy home/road split comes into play, not sure how.

[mithrandir17]

Maybe the empty seats will make Ben think that it is just a practice gym and shoot jumpers now.

[elchengue20]

I don't understand how Biid and Simmons fit together. Both need spacing to operate and neither offers much(obviously specially Simmons is a problem here). Also Simmons needs to run the floor like crazy to maximize his game and Biid is more of a half court player.

They both great players, if they are healthy you are going to be a good team but its very hard to be a contender with that ankward fit. Especially in the Playoffs when the game slows downs a bit, the fit gets worse.

That being sayed, defensively they are great, i agree that if we make some noise its going to be because of our defensive potential. I think in the playoffs, when every game matters, we are going to see more consistency in our defense.

Another problem is the leadership issues, neither looks like they can be the leader in a championship team, at least not yet. This is when loosing Jimmy really hurts. I think we underated his value in the intangibles part of the game. Also he was the closer, you cant rely in a big man like Biid to consistenly close games.

[Mik317]

I really think the fit concerns are overblown IMO.

Its not the best fit but I mean until this year it really was not the main issue...and guess what its an issue this year because our genius FO decided to add another center..imagine that. I ama broken record but that first playoff team shown that if all 3 of the other guys are shooters defenses have to give a **** about then the spacing is fine. That team also had Marco and Ersan off the bench. This team has Furkan and maybe Shake now. Teams are fine with Josh, Al and Tobias attempting to beat them from deep. Josh and Al aren't ever going to be high volume shooters and I question if Tobias is willing either. JJ , Marco, Ersan and Cov were all about that life and Dario was willing too. That mentality makes the defense second guess helping off and that split second is all that is needed to free up Biid or Ben. We didn't lose that Boston series because of spacing. We lost it on the defensive end as JJ and Marco were food and Ersan's flop no jutsu wasn't working. The FO took the wrong message from that lost and pivoted too much and lost the strength of that squad.

I also take umbrage to the idea that Biid can't exist in a fast pace offense. Embiid is damn good trailing option...which means he doesn't have to be the first guy up the floor. We can still push the rock and when it doesn't work, Biid as the trailer could be open for a 3 or have an automatic mismatch. Biid needs to lose some weight still tho. He should get in the 250 (says the fat **** as if its that easy lol) IMO. But this idea that he cannot exist during a few faster pace possesions is weird consider My Fat King Jokic seems to do just fine in the exact same role I mentioned above.

Basically Ben and Embiid; while not perfect, aren't even near the middle of the list of issues this team has. This roster is built on the assumption that Tobias Harris is a willing and able high volume 3pt shooter; when thats just not his game. It's built on the idea that Josh Richardson is a top tier secondary ballhandler; when he's not. Its built on the idea that Al Horford is in his 20's again and can play the 4 as a floor spacer when he's not. I mean our whole season currently hangs on the idea that a late second round pick can save the season and a guy who we were going to just let walk became our best shooter......I mean come on. This teams best moves this offseason were flukes while the main moves have all either backfired or not lived up to expectations because they were based on assumptions rather than reality.

[elchengue20]

I really think the fit concerns are overblown IMO.

Its not the best fit but I mean until this year it really was not the main issue...and guess what its an issue this year because our genius FO decided to add another center..imagine that. I ama broken record but that first playoff team shown that if all 3 of the other guys are shooters defenses have to give a **** about then the spacing is fine. That team also had Marco and Ersan off the bench. This team has Furkan and maybe Shake now. Teams are fine with Josh, Al and Tobias attempting to beat them from deep. Josh and Al aren't ever going to be high volume shooters and I question if Tobias is willing either. JJ , Marco, Ersan and Cov were all about that life and Dario was willing too. That mentality makes the defense second guess helping off and that split second is all that is needed to free up Biid or Ben. We didn't lose that Boston series because of spacing. We lost it on the defensive end as JJ and Marco were food and Ersan's flop no jutsu wasn't working. The FO took the wrong message from that lost and pivoted too much and lost the strength of that squad.

I also take umbrage to the idea that Biid can't exist in a fast pace offense. Embiid is damn good trailing option...which means he doesn't have to be the first guy up the floor. We can still push the rock and when it doesn't work, Biid as the trailer could be open for a 3 or have an automatic mismatch. Biid needs to lose some weight still tho. He should get in the 250 (says the fat **** as if its that easy lol) IMO. But this idea that he cannot exist during a few faster pace possesions is weird consider My Fat King Jokic seems to do just fine in the exact same role I mentioned above.

Basically Ben and Embiid; while not perfect, aren't even near the middle of the list of issues this team has. This roster is built on the assumption that Tobias Harris is a willing and able high volume 3pt shooter; when thats just not his game. It's built on the idea that Josh Richardson is a top tier secondary ballhandler; when he's not. Its built on the idea that Al Horford is in his 20's again and can play the 4 as a floor spacer when he's not. I mean our whole season currently hangs on the idea that a late second round pick can save the season and a guy who we were going to just let walk became our best shooter......I mean come on. This teams best moves this offseason were flukes while the main moves have all either backfired or not lived up to expectations because they were based on assumptions rather than reality.

A few things i want to say:

1) Yes, Embiid can play in a fast run and gun system. MVP level players like him can be useful in many ways.But you ain't going to maximize his game playing like that. Can you win it all when you only take advantage of 70/80% of Embiid potential? I think you cant. Plus, the game in the Playoffs slows down, you are going to be playing half court a lot. And then Simmons becomes useless in offense at the same time that he hurts Embiid game. Also Jokic isnt a championship calibeer franchise player. I am not talking about being a nice playoff team, i am talking about to find a way to win the Larry O'Brien.

You can put it this way. Its imposible to maximize both Simmons and Biid game at the same time. Are they so great that you can win it all without getting them to their 100%? I dont think they THAT great. Even the greatest needs a perfect system and teamates to win.

2)Yes, the FO has done a terrible job with the supoting cast, making the fit worse. The Horford signing is beyond stupid. It would be a great signing in 2003, but we are in 2020. Letting Butler walk to sign Tobias is another very bad decision. Also the lack of depth doesnt help.

3) We lost in 2018 because of defense but also our half court offense was terrible. The only player who could make plays was Embiid. To compliment Biid+Simmoms you need players who are lights out shooters, good defenders and 1 o 2 shot creators. Thats very dificult to get from guys who are your 3rd, 4rt or 5t best player on the team.

[Wilfried]

To compliment Biid+Simmoms you need players who are lights out shooters, good defenders and 1 o 2 shot creators. Thats very dificult to get from guys who are your 3rd, 4rt or 5t best player on the team.

Damned, how many of those are in the NBA today?

1 or 2?

[Mik317]

I think this idea of one system is the main issue imo. We aren't going to win with a system that caters mainly to either guy, both dudes need to be more versatile in that regard. Ben has to shoot. Embiid has to get in much better shape. That way we can have multiple ways to kill you.

And yes the half court offense in the Boston series sucked ass BUT I don't think it is as hard to get dudes who can fill the needed roles. Obviously it would be great to have another all star but there are a bunch of dudes in the league right now, who can get shots off the dribble..there are bunch of dudes who can hit open shots..and you don't need a bunch of Bruce Bowen level defenders just dudes who won't die on that end. JJ for example is not someone I'd consider to be a great or even good defender...but he wasn't the liability on that end last year...why? because we didn't have him out there with Marco and TJ. JJ was able to follow other teams shooter guys and he did a dang good job (lowkey locked up Harris and Green IIRC). Also I mean we found Cov off the garbage pile. The issue is that the FO put a premium on getting Embiid insurance at the cost of everything else....so this idea that we cannot get guys to "fit" around Ben and Embiid is a self made issue IMO.

Also Also both guys benefit from the same players in both "systems". Both need shooters. Both need athletes (for running and to allow Biid to roam more in the paint on defense). Both need shot creators (for Biid's PNR and for Ben's weakness on that end). Again to be a broken record both do not need more dudes who like to live in the mid range to paint area.

Ben is not the perfect PG for Embiid...of course he isn't. BUT even without Embiid, Ben needs to versify his game. He needs to be a willing shooter from range and needs to be agressive. Those dinky short range PNRs they began to run, shows that in doses that could work. Bens lack of range hurts BUT giving him a open lane should not be this easy choice. He needs to use that extra space to attack. He has the size to see over the defense so when he gets trapped on drives, its not like other PGs. Its a diss to call him Giant Rondo but Rondo made it work because defenses had to think about his floater for example. Ben often drives with the idea to always pass it off .Thats the type of stuff that needs to change with or without Biid.

Biid is not the perfect big for Ben...He needs to be more willing to shoot...and lowkey become a better shooter his damn self. His lust for post ups and often black hole tendencies is not the wave. he needs to be more quick on his decision making. he allows the defense to get in position a lot. He again needs to lose some weight (throwing stones in my glass house again). His weight advantage does not really help him as much anyway. He needs to also work on his post moves in general too. He got super sloppy this year in that regard. He also needs to get a go to move that is consistant and spam that ****. This is what he needs regardless of Ben or any PG we have.

THAT being said tho, despite that. Despite all of the **** that surrounds this squad. The fact that we took off the moment both guys arrived...says it all. These flaws have existed all 3 of these years....and despite that...despite everything this has been a 50 win team each of the years (maybe not this year lol...but we take those). I just think its a lot easier to fix the surrounding issues than throw out the two pieces that have been here for all of this so far. We took the champs last year to 7 games despite JoJo playing like a ho and Ben going AWOL on offense. I am never a moral victory guy but that shows that we were a lot closer than people thought. So I am not about that trade one of them **** because that like everything else does not really solve much. You can get Ben the shootinest bigman in the world...but that will probably come at the expense of the defense and wlll still require Ben to put his big boy pants on and shoot. You can give Embiid the most shot creating lord guard there is but again that will come at the cost of defense and he probably won't be as young as Ben so it shortens the window even more. The best option is still those two together and making it work. I don't think the FO was too far off idea wise w/ the Jimmy and Tobias trades ....Jimmy was an **** diva and Tobias just isn't a high volume spot up guy but the idea was sound....they pivoted for beeeg and that was stupid.

[76ciology]

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