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The 76ers: Impressive Young Pieces on the Move

By Dan Falcone

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The Philadelphia 76ers are about to start another year of the rebuild. All of the sudden, instead of writing about the impressive, young pieces they possess, we have witnessed a frustrating barrage of soap opera styled coverage: Hinkie is secretly hated by the owners, Embiid is a recalcitrant binge eater of junk food, Michael Carter-Williams was Michael Jordan, Brett Brown is upset and, everyone else, overseas and otherwise, is hurt.

Now back to planet earth. The Sixers will be okay this year and the rebuild is working fine. The Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves all have a slight edge over the Sixers in terms of talent. They will also win more games, in all likelihood. Throw in the Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets, and Portland Trailblazers – additional teams that eclipse the Sixers, but one thing is almost certain:

The Sixers are in a better long term position than all nine of those teams. Yes, I’d rather be the Sixers than any of those franchises. I can keep going: Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, and Charlotte Hornets. Again, the Sixers are in a better position than those teams. Even if these last three teams I mention, are a bit of a stretch, they will suffer in NBA purgatory no doubt.

Predictions:

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The Sixers likely have the strongest candidate for Rookie of the Year in Jahil Okafor. His offensive game is as good as Nerlens Noel‘s defensive game and this is a very good thing. It has been a difficult summer for the organization with the passing of Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone and Okafor’s historic arrival and expectations at center are now even more anticipated and relevant.

Tony Wroten will be out until December, but Isaiah Canaan and Nik Stauskas should share the point guard role and keep the team energized and competitive. The perimeter is the biggest question mark for the Sixers at the moment and Brett Brown might have his hands full with navigating the back court.

The projected line-up featuring Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel, and Jahil Okafor could add to 40 points a night. Talk about an interesting and complementary array of skill sets. It is rare for Covington to have a bad outing and his upside continues. With the big three at small forward, power forward, and center, the Sixers will be competitive.

The truth is that Hinkie hasn’t even thrown a punch yet and just wait until he takes a full swing with free agents in the near future.  Dario Šarić will enter the roster when the Sixers are a playoff team with added second rounders and free agents. If this, the ultimate design of Hinkie, proves successful, things will start to get very interesting.

How many games will the Sixers win? My guess is 15-22, in that range.

What place in the Atlantic Division? Fourth.

Will they make the playoffs? No. Nor do they want to.

Next: How Does The NBA D-League Evolution Impact The Sixers?

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