Philadelphia 76ers: Record predictions for the 2019-20 season
Jonathan Geib
The Philadelphia 76ers are entering this season with potentially the loftiest team expectations in my 26 years of life. The Allen Iverson era, which peaked in 2001, was an exciting time with hype everywhere throughout the city. However, that 2001 Finals team pales in comparison to the current roster in terms of talent top to bottom.
The departures of Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick cannot be overlooked, but the Sixers did not sit idly by. The team acquired Josh Richardson, a prolific, young two-way guard on a team friendly contract, and Al Horford, a proven veteran who has an assortment of wisdom to impart on Joel Embiid. The Sixers new starting five is arguably the best in the league entering this season, and unarguably the tallest.
Ben Simmons has improved his jump shot, which I know is not saying much, but his willingness to at least take shots is an improvement from years past. Joel Embiid lost 25 pounds this offseason and has been aggressively working on his conditioning to be able to play and impose his will at the end of close games and into the playoffs.
The bench depth this year is the most exciting part of this team though. There are two legitimate backup point guards to Ben: Raul Neto and Trey Burke. The addition of Kyle O’Quinn allows Embiid to go to the bench without the worry of opposing teams going on a scoring run in the paint. Lastly, the wing depth is wildly talented. James Ennis, Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith and Matisse Thybulle will all be fighting for minutes which will raise all their respective games as they compete against one another.
All in all, I cannot wait for the season to start; I’ve had a countdown to opening day since the schedule release in August. The anticipation for this team, this city, is at an all time high and I expect the Sixers to live up to expectations, not just the fans’ expectations, but also Embiid’s expectations of a 60-win team.