The Philadelphia 76ers are a bad NBA team right now. But, they are improving dramatically. They have a loaded front court that will continue to improve time, and solid play at the point guard right now. Then need to upgrade at shooting guard
Priorities. When your team is at the bottom of the NBA pile, it can give you a sense that time is not rushing by as quickly for your NBA team as it is for others. Best player available is always an optimal option, but when you are the worst team, it’s the only option. After all, the goal is to raise the team’s overall talent level. Fitting pieces together, and even changing those players, can come later. When you are the worst team (record) in the NBA, you have a goal of sustaining until the NBA draft, and then hoping that your team finds that one player who will change your team’s fortunes towards the positive.
Some would say that one player does not a difference make. But point guard Ish Smith has made that difference, a difference that has converted the Philadelphia 76ers from push-overs to push backs. No, the Sixers are not a playoff team yet. But they are winning NBA games on an ever more frequent basis. You see, blowing up everything and then climbing out of the smoldering crater takes time. Especially when the team is discovering who the players are who make up their roster.
But in a recent article of examining what the Philadelphia 76ers need to beat the NBA best, a striking similarity linked each of the close losses to good teams – the opposing team shooting guard went ballistic when facing the Sixers. In sharp contrast, the Dallas Mavericks Wesley Mathews has had no problems containing the likes of Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford.
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We know that the Sixers are placing a premium on two-way players. Brett Brown has admitted the point on multiple occasions. We also know that Brown loves two way players personally, having made it a point to acknowledge working with both Robert Covington and Nik Stauskas to develop staunch defense to compliment their offensive shooting. But developing those skills will take time. Is there a shorter path?
It, like numerous other things, remains a work in process. https://t.co/2pNlWdI7Mh
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) February 10, 2016
Well, the trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and despite the Sixers expectation of refraining from a deal, they have been linked to investigating NBA players. They have been linked to Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, and C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers. Most recently, they have been linked to Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague.
Source: #Sixers contact #Hawks about point guards https://t.co/5cJMz2s45F via @phillysport
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 10, 2016
So an NBA trade is an option, however likely or remote, of the team to consider. But the team is also approaching an NBA draft, and that means NCAA meets NBA. In this draft, the Sixers could be sitting on two of the top five picks in the draft. If they get the Lakers pick, I would be shocked if the team did not select University of Kentucky freshman Jamal Murray. Murray has a mean jump shot, as he compliments that by setting up good shooting from deep. He will charge the lane as well, drawing in defenders to set up kick-outs for other shooters as well as popping a floater and getting to the rim. Murray has a complete arsenal of shots.
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The Achilles heel for Murray is his defense, which will need to be developed even more in the pros. But, he is working on it at the collegiate level too:
"“We’re just letting our defense translate to our offense and getting out on the break and outrunning teams with our speed and our guards and our bigs that can run,” Murray said. “We’re just really focused on finishing defensive plays and getting after it.”"
For now, we wait, we watch, some of us even worry. The Sixers are not a playoff caliber team just yet. But if they find the right pieces, whether home grown, luck of the draw, or signed at the free agency market, they could be very soon.