Philadelphia 76ers: Can Joel Embiid reach his lofty expectations?

The Philadelphia 76ers franchise center has some lofty expectations for himself and the team this year, but can all of them be met?

As a team leader and having one of the biggest personalities on the roster, it’s no surprise that Joel Embiid has some lofty expectations for this season. During media day he outlined the ones for himself and the Philadelphia 76ers as whole. For Embiid’s full sit down with reporters check out this link, but to sum it up he wants the Sixers to be first seed in the Eastern Conference, to win 60 games, to win a NBA title, he wants to be Defensive Player of the Year and MVP.

To say that Embiid has set a high standard for himself and the 76ers this season would be an understatement. The question is, can he reach his expectations on all fronts by the end of the postseason?

It’s completely possible for the Sixers to get first place in the East. With Kawhi Leonard gone, the Toronto Raptors aren’t an elite team. The Boston Celtics aren’t as big as a threat with Al Horford leaving them in favor of Philly. The Pacers will be without their star in Victor Oladipo for at least part of the season. Only the Milwaukee Bucks present any sort of real threat, but the losses of Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic will hurt them in the regular season.

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Winning 60 games might be a harder task for Embiid and the Sixers to complete. Embiid will have some level of load management this season. That means he will miss some games to help preserve his body for the playoffs. However unlike last season, the 76ers have Horford as very good replacement for when Embiid doesn’t play. Philly won 51 games without Horford as Embiid’s relief, but with Horford now on the roster adding nine more wins isn’t impossible.

Getting through the East bracket of the playoffs should be easy enough for the Sixers, with exception to the Bucks. Appearing the NBA finals is a very plausible expectation, but it will be hard to win it all. If the Sixers are going to win it, then they will have to be 100.0 percent healthy when get there, because whoever they will face won’t be an easy matchup.

The Western Conference has more than a handful of teams that have the talent to make the NBA Finals. The Los Angeles Clippers have a two super stars in Leonard and Paul George to go along with their deep roster. The Los Angeles Lakers still have LeBron James and added Anthony Davis. The Denver Nuggets have Nikola Jokic and a really deep roster. The Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz shouldn’t be slept on either.

In the past, I’ve written about Embiid getting Defensive Player of the Year and I still stand by that affirmation. However, I don’t think it’s likely he wins MVP, as I’ve chosen Giannis Antetokounmpo to win MVP in that same article just previously mentioned. It’s not because Embiid won’t put up MVP worthy numbers, but Antetokounmpo will be working with even less than he did last season when he won it, so with that in mind I expect him to get it again.

Two out of five exceptions that Embiid has for himself and the Philadelphia 76ers are very plausible. Two are hard to accomplish, but not impossible and one his personal goals just seems like it’s very unlikley he will reach it. However, it would be best for the Sixers if all five are reached by next summer.