After a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on an impossible Kawhi Leonard buzzer beater, the 2019-2020 Philadelphia 76ers begin another quest for a title tonight. Last year the Sixers finished with a 51-31 record which resulted in a third place finish in the conference behind the Raptors and Bucks. This is a new look team that has aspirations of being the top seed in the conference to get home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Finally, Philadelphia fans believe that this opportunity for the Sixers to reach the finals and have a shot at winning it all. So let’s preview the strengths and weaknesses of this Sixers team.
The starting five led by 7th year Head Coach Brett Brown, will most likely be: Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, and Joel Embiid. Out of those five, the shortest player is Richardson at 6’6”. A key for this lineup is that they stay healthy. This has been a problem for big man Joel Embiid. Even though he only played 64 games last year he still had great numbers posting 27.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. This lineup should dominate defensively as adding Richardson and Horford will help tremendously. The Sixers bench also has depth in Mike Scott, James Ennis, Furkan Korkmaz, and Jonah Bolden returning. Young players, Matisse Thybulle, Zhaire Smith, and Shake Milton will carry the torch and inject energy on both sides of the court.
A key problem is the lack of shooting as the Sixers were unable to get legitimate shooting threats as they lost JJ Redick to the Pelicans. The loss of Jimmy Butler also hurts as Philadelphia loses their premier finisher and the guy they relied on when they needed a shot. This leads to the question of who takes the shot when the game is on the line? My guess is it will be dependent on the situation of the game and whatever match up favors the Sixers and that’s who Brett Brown will go to in clutch time.
Another topic of conversation throughout the offseason is if Ben Simmons can round out his game with a jump shot. Last year Simmons averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He believes he can improve on all those numbers as he was seen shooting all summer and made a three in a preseason game against the Guangzhou Loong Lions. Even though it was an exhibition game, this was a positive sign that Simmons will gain more confidence this season and at the very least take those kinds of shots. He also noted in a recent press conference that he needs to work on his shooting and that it was not a strong point of his game. This was important because it was the first time that Simmons has acknowledged his inability to shoot and that it needed to be worked on in the offseason. This was a great sign of maturity for the now 23-year-old Aussie entering his third season.
The Sixers open up play tonight against the Boston Celtics. Traditionally this has been a great rivalry that has lasted for decades, but recently the Celtics have had the Sixers number. Last year the Celtics beat the Sixers 3 out 4 times as the teams met last year to open the season in Boston which resulted in a 105-87 beat down of the Sixers. Key changes for the teams this year include Al Horford coming from Boston to Philly. This is a big transition as Horford was one of the key defenders of Joel Embiid and would play lockdown defense on the big man from Cameroon. Horford also knows the Celtics offense and team very well so he should have a good scouting report for the Sixers to prepare for.
The Celtics have gained premier scorer Kemba Walker. Last year if you remember, Walker scored 60 points for the Hornets against the Sixers in an overtime loss that saw Jimmy Butler hit a dagger three that won the Sixers the game 122-119. The Celtics have swapped out Walker in place of Kyrie Irving who only played two seasons for the Celtics and is now a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
A key to starting off the season the right way for the Sixers is winning this game tonight. It would show early progress to beat a team that has good depth and coaching. It would also give Philadelphia fans a team to back as the Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers have not met expectations in their respective seasons so far. The pressure is there and “The Process” is over for this Sixers team. The time to win is now.
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