The Sixer Sense
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5 bold predictions for the Philadelphia 76ers next season

By Rusty Gorelick

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – MAY 9: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers is seen before the game against the Boston Celtics during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 9, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MAY 9: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers is seen before the game against the Boston Celtics during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 9, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Philadelphia 76ers have a talented roster although they did not land a superstar free agent. Here are five bold predictions for their upcoming season.

The Philadelphia 76ers almost doubled their win total from 2016/17 to 2017/18, which alone shows the Process has been successful. The went from winning 28 games in 16/17 to winning 52 in 2017-18, but the group is even hungrier for success after they laid an egg in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Boston Celtics this past spring.

The same youthful core of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric is still in place, and head coach/interim GM Brett Brown added some firepower to the bench so the team does not repeat its trend of blowing third quarter leads every game.

Embiid and Simmons have a full offseason to train and hone their craft, and Markelle Fultz has worked tirelessly to find his jump shot again. Sixers die-hards have idolized Pure Sweat Basketball CEO and trainer Drew Hanlen, who has heaped praise on Embiid and Fultz this summer.

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Putting two top three draft picks in the hands of a third party trainer wouldn’t be the best look for the 76ers if it was anyone but Hanlen, but the former Belmont standout helped Jayson Tatum go from shooting 34.2 percent from deep at Duke to hitting 43.4 percent of his threes as a rookie in one offseason. If ‘Kelle and Jo progress at the same rate as Tatum, then the sky is the limit for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Philly traded away young talent that is not ready to help the team win now in exchange for some proven veterans to come off the bench. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Richaun Holmes, and Justin Anderson all made way while Zhaire Smith, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Landry Shamet, and Shake Milton all enter the fray. Veterans Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova also left after their successful half-seasons in Philly last year.

The Sixers now end the summer with more experience than they had last year, and that’s crucial for the playoff newbies who struggled against the Celtics in the conference semis. Simmons and Robert Covington played inconsistently in that series, but now they know what it takes to win in the postseason, and that will be crucial by the spring.

The Sixers failed to recruit LeBron James, Paul George, or Kawhi Leonard over the course of the summer, but if Simmons, Embiid, Fultz, and Saric edge closer to their full potential and J.J. Redick and Covington shoot well, then the Philadelphia 76ers could win the Eastern Conference and face the survivor of the gauntlet that is the Western Conference playoffs.

It’s another big season ahead for Brett Brown’s squad, and as last year proved, the Sixers have scary good potential when everyone is healthy. The new season is still almost two months away, so here are some bold predictions for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018-19.