The Philadelphia 76ers have 13 games left before the postseason begins and that is where they will have their chance to win their first title since 1983. The Sixers have a lot of expectations with the acquisition of James Harden to team up with Joel Embiid so a lot of eyes will be on Philadelphia.
In terms of where they stack up in a loaded Eastern Conference, a ranking put together by Rohan Nadkarni over at Sports Illustrated has the Sixers ranked fourth in the contention list in the East. They are still behind the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics, and the Milwaukee Bucks while being ahead of the Miami Heat.
Nadkarni on the Sixers being fourth (please note that this article was written on March 18 before Philadelphia’s contest with the Dallas Mavericks):
The good news: Harden and Embiid have been fantastic together. They have a 17.9 net rating in 240 minutes together, and defending pick and rolls or handoffs between them will require a high level of focus from opposing defenses on every possession. My fear is the number of minutes the two will have to play during the postseason, because Philly hasn’t been good with even one of them off the floor. For all the talk of staggering stars, In Harden solo minutes, the Sixers have a minus-2.4 net rating. In Embiid solo minutes (since Harden’s first game on Feb. 25), Philly has a minus-14.8 net rating. The depth lost in the Simmons trade was real. The backup center spot is a mess, and the backup guards are inconsistent.
Though I just made a case for how depth concerns are slightly less important in the playoffs, Harden and Embiid have both had struggles in the past going deep into the playoffs and staying as effective as the possessions rack up. At least this time they’ll have each other. I still think this duo can win the title. At the same time, if I’m splitting hairs, I prefer the teams whose best players have also spent a little more time together.
As mentioned, Harden and Embiid’s net rating is now 15.47 after the matchup with the Mavericks. They have played 10 games together, but they have 13 more to go before the playoffs to nail everything down. The Sixers still have a lot of issues that need to be fixed, but at the same time, the talent they possess can cover up a lot of their flaws. They just don’t have a lot of time to figure everything out.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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