The Philadelphia 76ers are in the middle of trying to chase a title in the middle of an NBA restart inside the bubble in Orlando, but what about the future?
The Sixers are led by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons who are 26 and 24-years old, respectively, and they are continuing to get better. They are already top 15 players in the game and they are not even in their prime just yet.
Their youth gives the Sixers a chance to win for a really long time–if the front office puts the right pieces around the two of them–and as they get set for the future, Bleacher Report ranks them 11th in their power rankings.
B/R stated:
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are best suited beside extra ball-handling and functional shooting. Philly went in the complete opposite direction by bidding farewell to Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick and signing Al Horford. Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson offer some of what Embiid and Simmons need, but neither is a true facilitator, puts a ton of pressure on the rim or dazzles with shooting.
Bringing Horford off the bench will decongest some of the Sixers’ clunkiness. It demands Shake Milton be good right away, but the improved floor balance alone will be a boon. Philly is scoring 116.6 points per 100 possessions (93rd percentile) when Embiid and Simmons play sans Horford, compared to just 99.5 during their time alongside him (3rd percentile).
The Sixers are hoping that the move of Shake Milton into the starting lineup and Simmons over to the power forward spot will unlock more of their offense. Philadelphia’s current and future hopes hinge on the success of this move working out. [lawrence-related id=35647,35638,35625]