Philadelphia 76ers must improve for NBA playoffs, but where?
By Bret Stuter
Mr. Fix-it
The bottom line is that this team must improve to have serious hopes for succeeding in post-season, or even getting there. The three greatest areas of improvement right now are:
I – Free Throw Accuracy
II- Turnovers and
III- Personal Fouls.
The most critical is foul shooting. Until that improves (and I’m looking at you Ben Simmons), that gives opponents the opportunity to dictate tempo and outcome risk-free. If the Philadelphia 76ers enter the playoffs with a Simmons at sub-60 percent at the foul line, you can bet that the fourth quarter will be spent trying to navigate through a Hack-A-Ben strategy. That will result in one of three outcomes: the Philadelphia 76ers’ fans will be heartbroken to lose post-season games at the foul line, the 76ers will try to thwart that strategy by placing T.J. McConnell in to bring the ball down the court, but that limits the 76ers perimeter attack, or Simmons will get into a groove.
Improve perimeter shooting
After that, the team should look hard at getting better accuracy at three-point range. That can simply take the form of selecting better shots with the current roster. But ideally it could translate into a deal at the trade deadline for a solid perimeter shooter. Can the team find someone? Perhaps if they package a player and consider adding 2018 second round picks as the value of the incoming player increases.
Next: How to get through this 76ers hiatus
Finally, the team should look to improve their offense. That can happen simply by adding the right player to fill the open roster spot, or by sorting through players on 10-day contracts to see who meshes best with the team roster. The offense may even improve when Markelle Fultz returns to health and adds his unique skillset to a lineup built to his strengths. Right now, this Philadelphia 76ers team is improving, and is back in the hunt for a playoff spot. But as far as solidly competing when the team gets there? Not yet. Close, but not quite there. In the end, this team has to clean-up some things to be taken seriously as a post-season contender. But this is still a young team and there is time.