Can Sixers win modern era championship with old school identity?

With the 2020-21 Sixers, you don’t see the typical flash or show, but a team that is simply ready to win. It all starts with the new man in charge: Doc Rivers. Its all starting to add up on why the Sixers viewed the struggling coach as the right man for the job. The most important reason being culture.

Doc knows what it takes to win and has a reputation of having tough minded basketball teams. The questions surrounding the Sixers in recent years has never been about talent level. Year after year they fell short and leaks about work ethic and will to win seemed very troubling for the teams future. Its starting to feel like Doc has finally shifted the culture. In just a short amount of time Doc has the Sixers holding a 37-17 record tied for first in the eastern conference. The Sixers are top 10 in both points per game and points allowed per game. This is culture.

Doc won his first Finals with a very similar roster in 2008 against one of the best players and organizations of all time: Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. That 2008 Celtics team looked very similar to the currently constructed Sixers team. A pass-first, defensive-minded point guard (Ben Simmons) , a sharpshooting shooting guard (Seth Curry , an elite scorer at all three levels (Tobias Harris), and an MVP-level big man (Joel Embiid).

The Sixers play a thoroughly old-school brand of defense-first basketball. Can they win a championship that way?

From head to toe the Sixers look like a team constructed to be playing in the 80s to early 2000s era. The Sixers are currently second in NET defensive rating and top 10 in nearly every defensive category. They have two players in the Defensive Player of the Year Race (Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle) and have the ability to throw multiple capable defenders on today’s NBA elite scorers. Joel Embiid has been a DPOY candidate for the last three seasons and is still a top-three defensive anchor in the NBA. This gives the sixers a chance every night in both the regular season and playoffs.

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Offensively the Sixers embrace who they are very well. It all starts with the big man Joel Embiid. The MVP candidate is averaging a dominating 29.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the field. He demands double teams on the block and is unorthodox for current NBA teams to guard. With teams playing more and more small ball Joel creates mismatches and forces teams to play a style of basketball they are not used too. This will be an extremely valuable asset for the sixers in the playoffs. It allows them to control the pace, lineup creativity, and overall style of play.

This is why I believe the Sixers embracing an old school identity gives them the best chance to win the 2021 NBA Championship. Across the league nobody has the roster to plays like them and it makes them hard to prepare for.

It’s no mystery that the biggest challenge for Philadelphia in the East is the daunting Brooklyn Nets. They are an offensive powerhouse that presents defensive challenges across the board. Let me ask you something. Who better to take them on than the team holding two DPOY candidates and arguably the best big man in basketball? What team in the NBA has the ability to guard three MVP offensive level players (Kyrie, Harden, and Durant)?

The old school style of play of the Philadelphia 76ers gives them the best chance to run the table. Their new formed identity is not something to be overlooked. They are just as dangerous as the nets but in their own unique way. Doc Rivers and the Sixers have seemed to create something special at the right time.