Philadelphia 76ers November 2016 Recap

Future Looking

Beyond the possibilities of entering 2017 with a ten or more win team, there is plenty of additional landmarks to get excited about. Let’s look at some:

I. Ben Simmons Will Return – In January 2017, Ben Simmons will likely join the team and begin to phase in at the point guard role.  While that may result in both negatives and positives initially, it will likely bring a key solution to the ever nagging problem with this team.

Who gets the ball in crunch time?

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With Ben Simmons on the floor, he will.  He has the size and physicality to penetrate to the basket. He has the accuracy to dish the ball to the open shooter. Most of all, he has the basketball IQ to know where to go with that ball instantly.

Simmons will bring to the back court what Joel Embiid has brought to the front court – a complexity difficult enough to thwart most opponents.

II. Ten Day Contracts Can Be Signed – January 5, 2017 – While the Philadelphia 76ers may have a full, but unhealthy, roster for now, that could change in 2017.  The 76ers are sitting on a cornucopia of promising talent in their D-League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers.

Cat Barber is sitting at 19.5 points per game with 4.0 assists and 68.8 percent accuracy from the perimeter.  Shawn Long is scoring 19.0 points per game with 10 rebounds.   Dionte Christmas is scoring 16.2 points per game while shooting 42.6 percent from three-point range.

Each player could be called up to see how they mesh with the 76ers going forward.  With the current 76ers roster, they may even earn quality playing minutes in the process.