Philadelphia 76ers plus LeBron James beats Boston Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers are young and improving. But they must go through the Boston Celtics to earn the right to play for an NBA Championship. Adding LeBron James will get 76ers past the Celtics next season

Yes, Philadelphia 76ers fans, you gotta have faith. On one hand, faith in the years of losses which got the team to this point. On the other hand, faith in the head coach who finally has a team capable of winning in the NBA.  And finally, faith in players who are learning how about one another as they learn the NBA game of basketball. In the end, the Philadelphia 76ers are trail blazers to a new NBA era. An era where spacing, pace of the game, and passing ability rule. A new era where bigs once more step up to the NBA center stage. Not because they are “big”, but because they have caught up once more to the skill-sets of other NBA players.

Now the coup de grace, attracting a league elite.

See smoke, think fire

The buzz on the street is that there is a mutual respect and admiration between LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers organization.  That’s fantastic in modern sports. And we’ve mapped out the logic of how a LeBron James addition to the Philadelphia 76ers would be a natural fit.

Of course, we are talking just LeBron the player, and not the Wizard of Oz GM or Coach lurking behind the curtain making the true decisions and schemes for the team.

In an interview before the Cavaliers defeated the 76ers, LeBron James had this to say:

"“The organization has done a great job believing in Brett Brown’s system, believing in what he wanted to do and they gave him time,” James said to Jeff Zillget of USAToday.com"

In that same article, Zillget makes a case almost begging LeBron James to consider the Philadelphia 76ers. And in some ways, he generates a compelling case.  But he falls short on one critical area.

LeBron wants to win another championship.

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2018 playoffs harbinger of NBA future

In an earlier assessment, we discussed the importance of the 2018 playoffs to the Philadelphia 76ers future. Getting there is not enough. Four and done won’t cut it. This team must beat expectations, surprise the NBA media and fanbase, and win some games in post season.  Do that, and the team will immediately be a location for elite NBA free agents.

Jackson Frank had a story over the possibility in August 2017.  We followed that up with an article debunking those”that’s crazy” reactions, acknowledging the logic is sound.  Finally, we covered the warm welcome in Philadelphia for the visiting LeBron James, a rare event to say the least.  In the aftermath, the article from USAToday.com’s Jeff Zillget has ignited similar articles in Newsweek, Sporting News, 247Sports, and other sports news media.  Only Sports Illustrated has taken a differing path, offering a rebuttal of why LeBron should not go to the Philadelphia 76ers.
However you fall on the matter, major sports writers are talking.

Boston Celtics stand in Philly’s way

Some believe LeBron James would divert the Philadelphia 76ers from their ultimate destiny. Others argue it would speed the team along too quickly, forcing young players like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid into NBA semifinals before they were ready to play those minutes in front of the nation and ultimately the world.

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The greatest immediate threat to the success of the Philadelphia 76ers this year is not the Golden State Warriors nor any NBA West conference team. It’s the dreaded Boston Celtics, the nemesis from Beantown.  The rivalry has waned over the years as one or the other team has not been truly competitive. The 76ers have already lost their first game to Boston 102-92, but had won the previous game in March 2017. Of the 441 total games played between these two teams, the Philadelphia 76ers have won 185 (42 percent).

LeBron puts 76ers over the hump

In post season, the 76ers perform better.  The two teams have met 100 times in NBA playoffs, with the 76ers winning 46 games (or 46 percent).  But ultimately, every Philadelphia 76ers fan, player, coach, and executive must come to grips with the cold reality, the road to an NBA championship means beating the Boston Celtics four times in a seven game series.

As the Philadelphia 76ers team now stands, that will not likely happen.  Even as the team matures and improves, the Celtics will continue to pose a significant hurdle each year.  The Philadelphia 76ers will need a player who consistently beats the Celtics, particularly in a championship series. In the past two playoff meetings, Cleveland has dominated Boston with eight wins to one. That comes from a player like LeBron James, who averages 29.2 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds per game against the Celtics.

The goal is to win the NBA Championship, not the salary cap award

The goal is to win an NBA championship.  And the Philadelphia 76ers continue to improve and inch closer and closer to that inevitable date with destiny.  Still, the road to that NBA championship will go through Boston for the foreseeable future.  And the failure of many teams who make the playoffs lies in their myopic view of “getting better just by getting there year after year”.

There is no conclusion that LeBron James will be available, but if he has any interest in testing free agency, he would be a welcome addition to the Philadelphia 76ers. The ultimate goal is to win the NBA championship. But to do so, the Philadelphia 76ers must “get there” year after year. The youth factor of this team assures excellence in 3-5 years. But the window opens sooner if the team can attract an elite free agent, on the order of LeBron James.  And James would certainly shoulder his part of the interest, if only to win a third NBA championship on a different team.  Doing that places him in the distinct company of Robert Horry and John Salley.

Next: Do Simmons and Embiid have GOAT potential?

It’s time for the Philadelphia 76ers to start thinking NBA championship while they are on the escalator to the top. And it’s time for LeBron James to think about his legacy.