PHILADELPHIA,PA - JANUARY 3 : Robert Covington #33 and Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers are pumped up against Minnesota Timberwolves during game at the Wells Fargo Center on January 3, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
5 reasons the Philadelphia 76ers are not the 2016-17 Timberwolves
Despite the obvious parallels, the Philadelphia 76ers will likely not repeat the disappointment of last year’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
This time last summer the Minnesota Timberwolves were a very fashionable pick to make the playoffs. The T-Wolves had a “big three” of young players who seemed destined for stardom. In 2015-16 the Timberwolves were 29-53. They had added a transcendent young center to a lineup that had won just 16 games the previous season. The trend lines looked for Minnesota to take a big leap but that did not happen. Some are saying that the optimism for the coming season is premature and the Timberwolves are an example of how young teams don’t win.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixer Sense Sixers' Player of the Week: Joel Embiid continues to dominate
More headlines around FanSided:
— Sixers podcast: Jazz drama | Fans in stands | Good chemistry — Sixers: Ben Simmons is best choice for Defensive Player of the Year — GRADES: Sixers fight off Jazz in overtime — Philadelphia 76ers: Victor Oladipo becoming most obtainable star — Are the Toronto Raptors legit contenders in the crowded East?More News at The Sixer Sense
In 2016-17, the Philadelphia 76ers were 28-54 after adding a transcendent young center and after winning just 10 games the year before.
The parallels are obvious, but the results are unlikely to be the same. Before we dive into why this Philadelphia 76ers team will likely avoid the disappointment of last years team in Minnesota, lets dive into the Similarities
The Similarities
- Youth — The Timberwolves roster last season averaged just 25 years overall. But even beyond that, the average age of the starters was a positively cherubic 22.8. The Philadelphia 76ers roster this coming season will average 24 years old with the starters averaging just over 24 years of age. The Philadelphia 76ers average starting age is somewhat skewed by the 33-year-old old J.J. Redick. Remove Redick from the equation and substitute Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot at the shooting guard position and the starting average age plummets to just 22 years of age.
| Philadelphia 76ers | Minnesota Timberwolves | ||||
| NAME | POS | AGE | Player | Pos | Age |
| Justin Anderson | SG | 23 | Cole Aldrich | C | 27 |
| Jerryd Bayless | PG | 28 | Nemanja Bjelica | PF | 28 |
| Jonah Bolden | PF | 21 | Omri Casspi | SF | 28 |
| Robert Covington * | SF | 26 | Gorgui Dieng | PF | 26 |
| Joel Embiid* | C | 23 | Kris Dunn | PG | 22 |
| Markelle Fultz* | PG | 19 | Jordan Hill | C | 29 |
| Richaun Holmes | PF | 23 | Tyus Jones | PG | 20 |
| Amir Johnson | PF | 30 | Zach LaVine* | SG | 21 |
| Mathias Lessort | PF | 21 | John Lucas III | PG | 35 |
| Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot | SG | 22 | Shabazz Muhammad | SF | 25 |
| T.J. McConnell | PG | 25 | Adreian Payne | PF | 25 |
| Jahlil Okafor | C | 21 | Ricky Rubio* | PG | 26 |
| JJ Redick* | SG | 33 | Brandon Rush | SG | 31 |
| Dario Saric | SF | 23 | Lance Stephenson | SG | 26 |
| Ben Simmons* | F | 20 | Karl-Anthony Towns* | C | 20 |
| Nik Stauskas | SG | 23 | Andrew Wiggins* | SF | 21 |
| Average Age | 23.8 | Average Age | 25.6 |
- Roster Balance — The 2016-17 Timberwolves appeared to have a fairly good roster balance between bigs, wings and guards. With Karl Anthony Towns in the interior, Andrew Wiggins playing small forward and Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine and Ricky Rubio in the backcourt, the Wolves seemed to be balanced. The Philadelphia 76ers have thier own cadre of young stars in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.
On these two levels the two teams seem to share many similarities. So let’s dive into what the teams will likely not have similar results.
