76ers Can Help Themselves If They BEAT THE HEAT

By Bret Stuter | Nov 21, 2015

Philadelphia 76ers Can Help Themselves If They BEAT THE HEAT

The Philadelphia 76ers are a tough team to root for right now. They are a team struggling, seem to be regressing, and are bursting with so much youth and inexperience that you wonder “how long can they take this losing?”. I don’t know.

But I DO know that this team is set up in a win win situation. Yes, we’ve been on this path for the third year. Yes, we are due to turn the corner. Yes, the team plays for the NBA draft and has YET to win the top pick. But the fact remains that as of this moment, the Philadelphia 76ers are picking four times from the first round of the 2016 NBA draft, they will be getting Joel Embiid onto the basketball court, they will see Dario Saric return to play in the NBA.

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This team next year, as of right now, will likely have six new faces. Who will those faces be? Well the first step is to optimize the 2016 NBA draft picks. As of right now, they have their pick (1) LA Lakers pick (1-3 protected) Miami Heat pick (1-10 protected) and the OKC Thunder pick (1-15 protected). So far, the team is on track to select four prospects from that first round.

The only fly in the ointment is the early success of the Miami Heat. This team is hot right now, and at seven wins and four losses, is likely selecting in the low 20s in the NBA draft. So far, the Sixers have had pride, progress, and momentum to play for.

But this game with the Miami Heat has the stakes raised just a wee bit more. The Sixers can help themselves out quite a bit by scoring their first win against the Miami Heat. The question is, can the Sixers hope to win their first game against the Heat?

Next: T.J. McConnell: Becoming A Full Fledged Point Guard

It’s possible. We know that this Sixer team is young and trying to discover their identity. They are trying to force their offense, and in doing so have been less than pretty in their ball handling and shot selection so far. At some point, this team has got to just “click”. We’ve seen the signs so far. Jahlil Okafor at center can dominate at the basket.

"“We want more. We expect more. We should be further ahead. Further ahead we will be if we can keep the group focused and players healthy. I think now is the time that we get excited in a sadistic way to go on the road for this long difficult road trip and try to get bunker mentality and try to spend time with each other.” – Brett Brown"

T.J. McConnell at the point has been a rare find, adding some offense and giving the ball successfully to shooters. We’ve seen flashes from Nerlens Noel on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, accurate shots from the hands of JaKarr Sampson, Phil Pressey, and some long range from Hollis Thompson. We know eventually Robert Covington (RoCo) will get hot. We know this Sixers team has it in them to rise to the occasion.

But the occasion hasn’t happened yet. This game against the Heat is the first game where the Sixers can actually help themselves in the draft and in the standings by winning. It would be a good spot for a first win, wouldn’t it? So for today, I officially declare this to be #BEATTHEHEAT day. Tweet all day to your favorite 76er player. Let’s get behind our guys, if the Sixers win today, we all win.