The suddenly .500 Philadelphia 76ers are enjoying a three game winning streak. But can the team continue to win amidst a five game road trip on the west coast?
Winning is not easy. The Philadelphia 76ers have not won even a third of their games over the past three seasons. But this year is different. The team has Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid playing in harmony, and the entire roster (not named Nik Stauskas or Jahlil Okfor) are contributing as well.
So far, the team has managed to turn around a slow start with a three game winning streak. Can this team keep it up? For all intents and purposes, the signs suggest it’s doable. But lets examine how the team got here.
On the road again
After a disappointing start of losing their first three games, the Philadelphia 76ers won a game on the road against the now (5-3) Detroit Pistons. The team lost a squeaker, 105-104 to the (6-3) Houston Rockets. Then the 1-3 Philadelphia 76ers toured Texas, winning against the Dallas Mavericks (1-8) and the Houston Rockets (6-3). Finally, the team returned home for a win against the (1-7) Atlanta Hawks.
The Philadelphia 76ers have one more home game, this time against the (5-3) Indiana Pacers on November 3rd, before packing up for a five game road trip on the West Coast. The team faces the (5-3) Utah Jazz on November 7th, the (1-7) Sacramento Kings on November 9th, the (5-3) Golden State Warriors on November 11th, the (5-2) Los Angeles Clippers on November 13th, and the (3-4) Los Angeles Lakers on November 15th.
Let’s break down the next six games and see if the team truly has a chance to remain over .500? This will cover the next two weeks, so are you ready? Let’s go!
Indiana Pacers (5-3) at Philadelphia 76ers (4-4)
The Philadelphia 76ers get one more home game as a sendoff before starting their grueling five game road trip. On Thursday, November 3rd, the (4-4) Philadelphia 76ers host the (5-3) Indiana Pacers.
Air Alamo
This will be a good test for the 76ers. The Pacers are themselves in the midst of a three game winning streak, albeit two of those wins came at home. But this team shocked the Cavaliers in a rare road win in Cleveland, 124-107. Wasn’t this a Pacers team many feared was content to tank this year?
Parallel seasons so far
Well on paper, perhaps. But the Pacers are getting career high performances out of shooting guard Victor Oladipo and center Myles Turner, and gutsy play out of veteran power forward Thaddeus Young, small forward Bojan Bogdanovich and point guard Darren Collison. Even sophomore Domantas Sabonis is much improved this year.
Still, the Pacers have not yet faced the Philadelphia 76ers. The tandem of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are not to be taken lightly, and they have no comparative equal among other NBA teams. That being said, the Pacers have a big challenge in Philadelphia.
While the Pacers have the more prolific team statistically, the 76ers appear to have better depth. And with a young roster, the 76ers are getting better with each game. The Pacers did win two of three against the 76ers last season, but these are two brand new teams. Look for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to take advantage of the Pacers near the basket with center Myles Turner still working his way back from the NBA concussion protocol.
Prediction?
Philadelphia 76ers (5-4) at Utah Jazz (5-4)
The Philadelphia 76ers are working hard to improve both offensively and defensively. The Utah Jazz excel at defense. So this is a situation with the irresistible force crashing into the immovable object.
Air Alamo
Utah needs a strong defense, as their offense is 28th in a league of 30 teams. And they have a well rounded team in their starting five. In fact, this team does many of the little things with great finesse. The team blocks shots and steals, plus they boast an impressive free throw accuracy at 81 percent. In comparison, the Philadelphia 76ers are poor at blocked short, fairly proficient at steals and are dead last in the league at just 67.3 percent shooting from the foul line.
Philadelphia counters with…
So what can the Sixers do well? Ball movement, assists, and perimeter shooting. But will it be enough?
This game will be closer than you think. Last season the Jazz swept the Sixers in two games by an average margin of victory of 22 points per game. In those games, the Philadelphia 76ers could only muster 83.5 points. But that was then, this is now. This year’s version of the Jazz no longer boasts either Gordon Hayward nor George Hill. So are the Jazz beatable?
Well yes they are, but no, not this round. This one is a squeaker, much like that first Houston Rockets game. The 76ers get close, but no weooooo….
Philadelphia 76ers (5-5) at Sacramento Kings (1-9)
The Sacramento Kings are rebuilding this season. Rebuilding in a way that gives the fans of the Philadelphia 76ers a warm fuzzy feeling inside. You see, the Sacramento Kings owe the Philadelphia 76ers a 2019 first round draft pick. And as long as they languish unsuccessfully, the pick feels rather valuable.
Swarm and Sting
And so, the Kings host the 76ers on Thursday, November 9th. While the team will be good down the road, they are not there yet. You see, the roster is built upon youth. Rookies De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovich join forces with Buddy Hield, Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere to form a very energetic and inexperienced nucleus for this team. And the Philadelphia 76ers, in stark contrast, are the more experienced in the contest.
Experience wins this one
The Philadelphia 76ers benefit from the experience advantage. Do not be surprised if the 76ers fall behind early in this matchup. The Kings will feel the heat entering this game, as they are quickly mounting a feel of a “tanking” team. As such, the young players will rally against the visiting Sixers in a test of “how good can we play?” in this game.
The reality is pretty good, for 30 minutes. But in the second half, the Philadelphia 76ers pull away. Whether it is the bench led by T.J. McConnell or Markelle Fultz, the depth of these 76ers gets traction and helps Philadelphia remain above .500 once more. The Kings can point to their first half as a “morale victory”, but award another W to the visiting Sixers.
Philadelphia 76ers (6-5) at Golden State Warriors (8-4)
In perhaps the meeting of the NBA future against the NBA present, this will be a game to set the recorder for. Even if the Philadelphia 76ers lose by a blowout, the sheer philosophical differences will be worth digesting and analyzing for years to come. Small ball versus tall ball. But will it truly come down to that?
FanSided
The Golden State Warriors will be small ball, yes. But the Sixers history against the Warriors is to gear down to small ball as well. And while the team has not won any games against Golden State recently (but honestly, that can be said about most NBA teams), they did get close. A two-point margin in 2017, a three-point margin in 2016, and a five-point margin in 2015. That may not sound like much, but these were contests of the best in the NBA against one of the worst teams in the NBA.
Closer still
While the 76ers have not won a game against the Warriors, this year could find a change. The difference maker is the return of Markelle Fultz. If he can return in time for this game, the Philadelphia 76ers could launch a small ball version of the roster which could surprise Golden State. Fultz, McConnell, Jerryd Bayless, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Nik Stauskas, J.J. Redick, Furkan Korkmaz and Justin Anderson could all rotate in the backcourt while the team plays a Dario Saric / Ben Simmons / Robert Covington rotation in the front court.
Albeit, the starting lineup will include Joel Embiid, but switching to a small ball version could be enough to throw the Golden State Warriors off their rhythm. In last year’s near win, the Philadelphia 76ers had incredible production from Dario Saric, Jahlil Okafor, and Richaun Holmes. This season, you can substitute Ben Simmons, Richaun Holmes, T.J. McConnell, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Markelle Fultz as players who could lead the 76ers to a win.
I don’t see Fultz coming back to play in time for this game. Therefore, I don’t see a 76ers win
Philadelphia 76ers (6-6) at Los Angeles Clippers (7-5)
The Philadelphia 76ers typically face a great opponent twice before measuring up enough to win. But this is an exception. The Philadelphia 76ers face the Los Angeles Clippers for the first time on November 13th. But this is not the same team as last season. The team no longer boasts either Chris Paul nor J.J. Redick.
Daily Knicks
And now Sixers J.J. Redick will be happy to show the Clippers how much of a mistake they made by letting him hit free agency. While Los Angeles brought in former Nuggets Danilo Gallinari to fill the void, his shot accuracy is notably off from the previous season.
Meanwhile Philly comes in blazing hot
The Philadelphia 76ers, pumped up from a near win last game, come in shooting with hot hands. While the Clippers boast the third best point diffentials in the NBA in the early going, this team has not faced a front court like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The Clippers rely heavily upon winning the battle of the boards to ignite their transition game. But they have DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin to thank for that. And that pair has not yet faced their equals in the NBA.
Until now.
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid match up very well in this one. As the Clippers front court is neutralized, the team must depend upon their back court matchups. That means Patrick Beverly and Austin Rivers must carry the load. While they are both capable, they don’t measure up in this one. The Clippers simply do not defend the perimeter very well. Covington and Redick are lit.
J.J Redick 1 Clippers 0
Philadelphia 76ers (7-6) at Los Angeles Lakers (5-9)
Let’s face it, the national media will portray this contest as something it is not. Close. Dramatic. On one hand, it will be Lonzo Ball vs Ben Simmons. On the other hand, it will be Lonzo Ball vs. Markelle Fultz. Finally, it will be every Ball vs Joel Embiid. In the end, this is the Philadelphia 76ers facing the Los Angeles Lakers. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Daily Knicks
The Lakers fans will be somewhat disappointed in their team by the time the Philadelphia 76ers arrive. The presumption that the Lakers are a playoff team will begin to crumble by mid November. And the visiting Philadelphia 76ers have two incentives in this game. Team leader Joel Embiid is already miffed at the Ball family, and will likely be particularly dominating in this game. Plus the team owns the Lakers 2018 first round pick. So winning this game will help the overall team in the upcoming draft as well.
Lakers fade begins mid-November
Offensively, the Philadelphia 76ers are the better team. Defensively, the Lakers appear to be better. But the Lakers had some less than offensively oriented teams in the early going of the season, and benefited from their defensively charged opponents. They will face an offensively charged 76ers team in mid November. With the Sixers sandwiched by two games against the perennially disappointing Phoenix Suns, don’t expect the Lakers to rally in this one.
The Los Angeles Lakers have no perimeter game, so they need to win the game in the paint. The problem? They must do it against Joel Embiid.
That’s not happening. Not with all the Ball family on the court simultaneously.
Summary
The Philadelphia 76ers enter the five game road trip with a hope to emerge at or better than .500. Based on this game by game analysis, the 76ers will do just that, returning to Philadelphia with an 8-6 record and aiming at a six game homestand against some very formidable opponents.
While 8-6 is not a championship record, it is a very strong base for a young team which improves with each game. Once more, the team hasn’t had the benefit of a top pick prospect nor a solid role player. Plus, the ignominious exclusion of both Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas from the rotation.
Next: 5 teams who should trade for Jahlil Okafor
The Philadelphia 76ers are indeed a playoff team, perhaps a better team than most want to admit. While this may not be “their year”, it is a statement season indeed.
Road warriors? You bet. Anyplace, anytime, anyone.