Hinging upon healthy Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers have better than .500 Odds the team finishes better than .500
The Philadelphia 76ers followed up a 10-72 season with a much more respectable 28-54 effort. That was with a dilapidated roster, battered by injuries to Ben Simmons, Jerryd Bayless, 51 games out for Joel Embiid, 32 games out for Jahlil Okafor. Then the minor batterings to Gerald Henderson, Sergio Rodriguez, Robert Covington, well… you get the picture.
All of that to overcome, and the team nearly tripled in the win column. It surprised many, but came very close to my 32 game win prediction. Now the team is heading back into another season. Not only will the team expectation be for the team to play healthy this season, but to have more experience playing together.
And then there is the almost certain addition of Markelle Fultz to the roster.
In the end, what does that do for the team in terms of wins?
Philadelphia 76ers Win Games
On one hand, the Philadelphia 76ers have never been at “full strength” the entire time of head coach Brett Browns tenure. Now that the team has a new season in front, and hopefully injury plague behind, this could be a playoff team as is.
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Now, the team has two new rookies to run the back court. It won’t be perfect at first, but much like the 2016-2017 season, at some point everything will “click” and the team will string victories. But how many?
Well, at one point in the season, the Philadelphia 76ers were a better team than the Miami Heat. As the Sixers fell more and more to injury, the Heat got hot. But in this new season, do the 76ers emerge as an 8-24 team into 2018? The team will more likely be a 14-18 team. Then, a 10-5 run in January, as unlikely as it was in 2017, would place the 2017-2018 season above .500. And it happened with a less healthy roster.
Philadelphia Playoff Team
Of course, the season must run it’s course. And obviously, the players must remain healthy. Finally, the team must succeed at optimizing Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz in the backcourt.
Do that, and this is a very very dangerous playoff team.
The Philadelphia 76ers were not good when then were embarrassed by the Minnesota Timberwolves on national television. But they got angry and determined. The next contest resulted in a win for Philadelphia.
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The NBA does not have a “book” on these 76ers. As such, teams facing the 76ers must adapt quickly. And I believe the 76ers adapt more quickly and effectively. In fact, the makeup of this Philadelphia 76ers roster will truly place excitement back into the playoffs.
The 2017-2018 Philadelphia 76ers are not a championship team just yet. But they will win games. And from a 10 win team in 2015-2016, that is saying quite a lot.