Looking ahead
If the season ended today the Sixers would be the six seed. They would also be missing their two franchise players. The focus for this team is simple. Survive the remainder of the regular season, get healthy, and embrace the underdog role.
If Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons both come back healthy and rested, then the Sixers could be the most dangerous six seed of all-time. In the 1994-95 season, the Houston Rockets, a six seed with a record of 47-35, became the first team to win the NBA Finals without home-court advantage for any round of the playoffs. That’s the ceiling for this Sixers team with the return of their superstars.
There is enough talent on this roster to win an NBA championship. Doesn’t mean they will, but it is there for the Sixers if they can put it all together. I want to see them channel a little of the 2011 Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs. The grit-and-grind Grizz upset the one-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round as an eight seed. They did it by playing an extremely physical brand of basketball.
The Sixers are a team of Monstars. There’s no reason to think they can’t do the same.