The Philadelphia 76ers obviously pack a ton of talent on their roster. No team in the league touts more decorated players than them, at least on paper. As a result, the addition of two All-NBA studs in LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to their core of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe should be more than enough to bring the franchise closer to its ultimate goal –– snapping their championship drought that has lasted for more than four decades now.
That being said, sacrifices will have to be made for this group to succeed. However, while not everyone will get their numbers, the team's stars will have to remain hungry and individually competitive, albeit in a healthy way, to prevent themselves from stagnating and keeping the squad's talent advantage alive on a nightly basis.
76ers stars cannot be too comfortable sacrificing everything next season
A steep decline in numbers could be perceived as an actual decline when it is simply adapting to a streamlined role. As such, the biggest thing the 76ers will want to avoid is for those diminished figures to reflect a real dip in production –– something that just cannot happen despite the sacrifices that have to be made.
Say for example, Embiid will probably see his usually exorbitant usage take a nosedive. However, he cannot be satisfied with no longer actively hunting for his own shots in the post, which is one of the distinct advantages this team has over most teams.
Ditto for Maxey and Brown, whose on-ball creation reps will be more optimized in order to give way to LeBron's playmaking and Edgecombe's ascent as a real three-level scorer. Both proficient drivers and shot creators, their off-ball usage will be increased, but they must keep their aggressiveness intact at all times in order to keep the defense on its toes.
The 76ers are no strangers to seeing their stars take a backseat (see: James Harden and Paul George). However, there is enough data to suggest that such a lenient approach could backfire when high-stakes settings force them into reprising their old, dominant roles. Now that the raw talent on the roster is on a historic degree, the alert level on that end should only increase.
Hopefully, the hunger for a championship drives all of the team's stars to reflect the same drive on an individual level. The 76ers will be facing a ton of pressure night in and night out, and it is up to them to make this complex dynamic work.
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