What happens if the Sixers can’t win it all?

So the Sixers went all in this season. The goal was simple, win the title. Well as of right now, that goal seems out of reach. Joel Embiid isn’t going to win MVP, James Harden seems to have busted, our bench sucks, and Doc Rivers needs to be fired. Let’s be pessimistic for a bit and look ahead to after the Sixers get eliminated from the playoffs.

I’m going to focus on two quick points.

1. What is the Sixers’ missing piece?
2. Does James Harden just need time?

That said let’s join in my pessimism and discuss what happens after this team fails to reach its goals, yet again.

What is the Sixers’ missing piece?

Every title team needs to have a specific list of things. They need,

• A dominant scorer who can take over games
• Good team defense and 1 or 2 lockdown individual defenders
• A guard or forward who can run the offense in the halfcourt
• A spark plug player who can carry the team for a game or two
• A solid 8-9 man lineup

Now let’s see what the team has. Dominant scorer? check. Good team defense? Not really. A guard who can run the team? Check. A spark plug? Check. A solid lineup? Working on it.

Now, how do we fix those holes? How do we get a good team defender who can fit in our lineup? Are our guys the right ones for this team?

Before I try my best to answer that, let’s look at our lineup.

• PG: James Harden
• SG: Tyrese Maxey
• SF: Danny Green/Matisse Thybulle
• PF: Tobias Harris
• C: Joel Embiid
• 6: Georges Niang
• 7: Danny Green/Matisse Thybulle
• 8: Shake Milton
• 9: Joel’s Backup Center

There’s a lot more to be said about contracts and team/player options but I’ll talk about that at a later date. But the basis is the majority of this team is on contract for next season, and to make a big move we need to move Tobias.

So that’s who we trade, but now what do we need to get back? What the team needs is defense, someone who can take the load off of Joel in the paint. Someone hyper-athletic who can catch lobs and hit open 3s. Someone who can slow down Giannis, get rebounds, and be a freak athlete on the offensive end. That’s the last piece this team is missing, a high-flying defender in the paint. There aren’t many players like that. After looking at the free-agent forwards this summer the team’s best bets are probably Miles Bridges or Chris Boucher. Both are free agents this summer, and the team could get either one of them with the right moves. Obviously, it’s all hypothetical, but it’s an idea.

Does James Harden just need time for the Sixers?

Let’s hope so. Assuming Harden resigns and the team still wants him, he’s going to stay for a few years. Since his arrival in Philly, Harden has been incredibly polarizing, even for this city. His talent is visible and obviously there, but it seems that he’s lost a step and can’t get to the rack. I’m writing this three days removed from the Bucks’ loss, and the morning after the Sixer’s disaster against Cade Cunningham and the Pistons.

In his 16 games played for the Sixers, Harden is pretty good numbers, averaging 22 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. He’s also shooting 41 percent from the floor, 34 percent from 3, and 88 percent from the line in those games. However, in the 6 out of 16 games that the team has lost, his shooting drops to 34 percent, 30 percent, and 86 percent from those same spots. The Sixers have played four big games, versus the Nets, the Nuggets, the Suns, the Raptors, and the Bucks, and all four added to the loss column. In those games, James is shooting 36 percent, 29 percent, and 89 percent. Along with those numbers, he’s also averaging -8.4 in plus/minus. Meaning that in big games, the team is scoring eight fewer points with him on the floor than with him on the bench.

The only outlier was the game Tuesday night against Milwaukee, where Harden had a team-high 32 points while shooting at a clip of 52/40/88 percent. That game gave the team some hope, which they then channeled by losing to the 20-56 Pistons. Following the game James was thrown under the bus by Doc Rivers, so we’ll so how that goes. Will the team get the James who played against the Bucks? Or will they get the one who crapped the bed and shot 17 percent from the floor against the Nets?