Philadelphia 76ers fans are getting a crash course in how many media personalities out there will try to poke holes in anything related to LeBron James, with many assuming Philly's new superteam is doomed to fail.
Many of those anti-LeBron mouthpieces for the ink to dry on the contract to declare the 76ers a recipe for disaster. While teams have been burned before after betting on high-profile names in the twilight of their careers, that past history doesn't mean this Philadelphia team is headed down the same path.
Many who choose to immediately take the opposite viewpoint invoke the 2012 Los Angeles Lakers, who famously paired Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, as another example of a team like this not working out. No one is saying that fans should already be planning a parade now that James is in the fold, but the pessimism seems either contrarian or overblown.
LeBron James-led 76ers team will not be a repeat of 2012 Lakers
The part of this argument that makes the most sense is the availability concerns. James is not going to play 82 games in a year in which he turns 42, and Embiid is a walking medical concern. The lack of depth behind the star players will be unproven youngsters and veterans on cheap deals. That doesn't put this team into disaster territory, however.
The 2012 Lakers were the product of a bunch of older big names all hitting the wall at once. It took Pau Gasol years to rediscover his elite offensive form, and Steve Nash's best years as a scorer and passer were way behind him. Throw into that some rocky chemistry the Bryant-Howard pairing led to, and you have an imperfect cocktail.
As sacrilegious as it might sound when comparing this team against a Kobe-led offense, this new-look 76ers squad has the potential to be a more efficient offense. When everyone is healthy, No. 23's ability to facilitate an offense due to his elite basketball mind and passing skills will be second to none.
When paired with the fact that a fully healthy 76ers team could lean on VJ Edgecombe, a No. 3 overall pick who averaged 16.0 points per game as a rookie, as a fifth scoring option, this team could be in very rarified air. This team will lose some games, and the stars will sit out, but the doom and gloom needs to be put on the back burner for the short-term future.
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