Will Philadelphia 76ers be first Philly team returning to playoffs?

After years of drought, the Philadelphia 76ers hope for the playoffs. But, will they be the first Philly team back in post-season?

The following list has something in common. Can you guess what it is?
2013
2011
2016
2012

Those were the years of the last post season appearance of each Philadelphia sports team. So which year pairs up with which team?  Well, I’m glad you asked.

2013 – Philadelphia Eagles
2011 – Philadelphia Phillies
2016 – Philadelphia Flyers
2012 – Philadelphia 76ers

So if you hear that Philadelphia is in some sort of decade-long drought, you can shoot down that troll with a silver bullet fact. Each Philadelphia team has seen post-season this decade.  But the compounding effect of all four major sports in a simultaneous drought has weighed down the optimism of this fair city. Which now begs the ultimate question: “Which professional sports team will be the first team back in post-season play?”

No rivalry, more friendly competition

Now, this is not a “my dog is bigger than your dog” heated debate or rivalry. In fact, check out this tweet from the Philadelphia Eagles:

The tide rises for all sports teams in the city.  But which team will serve as the icebreaker for the other teams?  The Eagles? The Flyers? The Phillies? The Sixers?  Let’s examine each sport carefully.

Phillies probability – 1 percent

Let’s face it. The Philadelphia Phillies are a long shot to get to the playoffs first. They have some young pitching, and perhaps the right approach to rebuilding the team. But planning to do is step one to a multi-step process.

The Philadelphia Phillies just ended their season with a record of 66-96. But they are not without camaraderie for their fraternal team beginning their season.

Last season it was 71-91. While I would love to say otherwise, I’m afraid the Philadelphia Phillies are not the team to lead the charge.

Broad Street Buzz

Flyers probability – 10 percent

The Philadelphia Flyers had a record last season of 39-33-10 for 88 points. That was 14 points off the pace of the least playoff team in their Metropolitan Division, the New York Rangers.

Even so, the Flyers did squeak into post-season in 2016, and as such stand as the last team to participate in the playoffs.

But the team is trying to aim at the future now. From a recent analysis from Hockeyviz.com, they project the Philadelphia Flyers to land just out of the Hockey playoffs this year.

While I don’t presume is the omniscient authority on the Flyers, I have no other facts as to why to reject their projection.  They are close, but without a compelling set of stars on the team, I fear it will be an effort without fruition just yet.

I set the probability at 10 percent just in case.

Eagles Probability – 34 percent

The Philadelphia Eagles are sitting at three wins and one loss.

Musket Fire

They have a two win zero loss record in the NFC East division. And finally, they have not won the division since 2013, which, according to the curse in the NFC East, means that this is their year.

Still, I’m not convinced that the Eagles get it done this year. The team made some smart moves, while other moves simply have not panned out. The free agent signing of wide receiver of Torrey Smith is a “has not panned out yet” signing. Rookie defensive end Derek Barnett, the pass rushing specialist, has no sacks yet in four games.

So far, the Eagles are third in the NFL in total offense.  But they fall to seventh best in scoring offense. Defensively, the team sits at 25th in the NFL on total yards allowed.

Meanwhile, the team improves to 23rd in scoring defense.    Unless the defense gets into better standing, the Eagles will begin to slip closer to .500.

Once again, I want to see the Eagles do well. I think Carson Wentz is an outstanding quarterback who just needs time and more weapons.  Finally, I just see speed bumps between now and post season for them.

Sixers Probability – 55 percent

Finally, we come to the Philadelphia 76ers. This is a team benefitting from a number of very positive forces internally and externally. Internally, you have the simultaneous debut of two top picks from consecutive NBA drafts in the form of Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.  Say what you will, but this has never happened in the NBA before. In has never come close to happening in the entire history of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise.

In fact, the last top pick to the Philadelphia 76ers was in 1996 and the selection was Allen Iverson. You can guess why the city is so excited.  Added to the mix is the fact that a team with as many as five starting caliber players on injury still managed to improve from 10-72 to 28-54 in one season. Even with injured players healing this season, that would drive the projected wins total into the 40-50 range.

But the team added sharpshooter J.J. Redick and power forward Amir Johnson to the mix as well. Both add veteran leadership and post season experience to a young roster.

Big Ben

Simmons is the key. And in his first preseason game, he definitely showed up.

But isn’t that to be expected? He is a rookie, yes. But he’s a top-pick from an NBA Draft, and he is benefiting from an extra year of coaching. And he’s an elite talent. But he doesn’t fit “a category”. And so, the NBA pundits simply ignore the undefinable impact of the young man.

Next: GM Survey predicts Ben Simmons will finish 2nd in ROY voting

So I conclude that the Philadelphia 76ers will make the playoffs first.  What do you think? Let me know in the comments section.