With two new blockbuster additions in LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, the Philadelphia 76ers are widely touted as strong title contenders this season. In fact, one media outlet has their projected starting five ranked as the best in the league, but that strong verdict places the group under immense pressure early on as they aim to figure out how to coexist on the floor.
As Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley pointed out in his starting five rankings, while the expected 76ers opening group has not played a single minute together, there is still way too much firepower between those players that one can only trust that they will be able to figure things out, despite some question marks still hovering above them in different departments. That being said, given the newness of this unit, it is bound to face a lot of pressure early in the season.
76ers new starting five will inevitably face immense pressure early on
The 76ers cannot afford a slow start in the upcoming regular season. With the Eastern Conference having more viable playoff teams this time around, Philly cannot lie low at any point of their campaign, which means that their starting five has to be able to mesh well as soon as possible.
Obviously, that is a lot easier said than done. The blietzkrieg of talent the 76ers will parade gives them a bigger margin of error when it comes to figuring out what works and what does not, but time will be of the essence for them. If their star-studded core takes a long while to foster a sufficient degree of chemistry to win games on a consistent basis without just relying on their sheer talent, they might end up being less than the sum of their parts.
Finding the right schemes that will usher in great synergy between the team's slew of established scorers and ball handlers will be a tall task. So is figuring out how the group wants to play pace-wise. There remain some noticeable stylistic changes between their stars, so the 76ers will have their work cut out for them early on.
Philly's schedule will be a tad more forgiving to kick things off compared to years past, so if they cannot turn in a great win-loss card before the tougher part of their slate comes up, there could be some tension brewing inside and out.
To wit, there will be a lot of adjusting and adapting for this group. For now, the concerns around them are more imagined than real. Be that as it may, the 76ers might be forced to alter their entire playbook around their new starting five, and given the competitive landscape in the league, there is now a lot of pressure for them to figure it out as early as possible.
Add us as a preferred source on Google