Comparing the Sixers’ downside to a season before
By Kunal Chawda
The Philadelphia 76ers have won two thirds of their games so far and have the fourth-best record in the league. It all seems green now, but the difference between the top three teams and the Sixers is vast. And when it comes to the playoffs, this difference is a deciding factor in crowning the champion.
Yes, Embiid is having a championship season of his own, and Harden is showing a glimpse of his MVP seasons. Both superstars are leading the league in scoring and assists, respectively. The team offense is also up, with Maxey and the bench putting in extra in 2023. But on a serious note, we need to focus more on the shortcomings that might hamper “the Dream”.
What is holding the 76ers back in 2023?
Doc Rivers have built great “ball-sharing culture” in his three years tenure. Even with the great outings in the regular seasons, the team fell out of the championship race in the Conference Semifinals in both previous seasons.
The front office, under Daryl Morey, has done everything to inject productive personnel into the squad. Though the team has not added any “big name” player to the roster, the additions are meaningful, and now is the “litmus test” for them as we get closer to the postseason. In our previous discussion, we have seen how well the 2023 Sixers are doing over the 2022 batch. This time we will go through the upgrades required to better the postseason or some negatives seen till now in 2023 performance over the 2022 one. Let us get started.