Philadelphia 76ers: Grading possible outcomes of the 2018-19 season
By Matt Burnham
Grade: B
A non-competitve Conference Finals would earn the Sixers a “B” grade. As one of the last four teams standing in the NBA, it is an achievement in itself. Especially in a conference that is more jam-packed than it has been since the 1990s, reaching the third round of the playoffs means the team is good.
However, the Sixers would not feel that way if they were an easy out for the Milwaukee Bucks or the Boston Celtics. This matchup would likely be a date with the first-place Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues his MVP campaign and officially takes the belt of Best Player in the World after LeBron James has held it for a dozen years.
The shooting arsenal of Nikola Mitotic, Malcolm Brogdon, All-Star Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez leaves the Sixers in shambles as the discombobulated switching gives the Bucks wide open looks. While those four snipers leave the floor wide open for The Greek Freak to operate, the defense becomes worn out and the offense struggles with fluency and cohesiveness as a result.
Sloppy play leads to turnovers and fast break points for Milwaukee as they are the sixth best transition team in the league. Both Brett Brown and Mike Budenholzer are Gregg Popovich prodigies, but Budenholzer creates schemes that eliminate the paint for Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Jimmy Butler is unable to get his desired isolation matchup against Eric Bledsoe or George Hill. Tobias Harris is unable to receive enough touches for a real influence on the game. J.J. Redick is abused in one-on-one matchups with Bledsoe and the Bucks basically play a 5-on-4 series.
Their length, size, and speed becomes overwhelming and the Sixers lose in four or five games. In the offseason, the team’s core remains with a few minor upgrades to the depth chart.