The Philadelphia 76ers have the potential to make a playoff run, but they need to make some improvements to be true contenders in the East.
Call me unrealistic. Tell me I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t care. The Sixers have a chance to make it out of the Eastern Conference.
Will they? Probably not; they’re certainly not the favorite. But you won’t convince me it isn’t possible. They just beat Cleveland. Boston hasn’t been as dominant as they were to start the season. And Toronto has been extraordinarily dreadful in the playoffs the last few years.
There isn’t a single team that’s untouchable in the East, and the Sixers, alone in sixth, sit just 1.5 games back of the three seed. Not to mention there’s this:
Pssst.
— Mike O'Connor (@MOConnor_NBA) March 3, 2018
If the Sixers go 16-5 the rest of the way, they'll win 50 games. 14 of their remaining games are against lottery bound teams. It's in play.
I’m not saying it will happen; I’m just not saying it can’t.
At the very least, the Sixers are good enough to win one series. That would go a long way in proving to Lebron James prospective free agents that Philly is ready to contend. But in all likelihood, this team isn’t quite ready to make a finals run.
That being said, if the Sixers can make these five improvement heading into the playoffs, they’ll have to be considered legitimate contenders in the East.