It’s draft day June 27th 2013,
Then Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkie trades away his lone all-star Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first-round pick. Here the “process” was born. An aggressive tanking manoeuvre of blitzkrieg proportions that was set to take Philly back to the promised land through the draft. Yet, here we are 7 years, 10 first-round picks, 19 second-round picks later, and their lofty quest has fallen short. Each of their 3 playoff appearances in the last 3 seasons has yielded consecutive second-round exits in the 2018 and 2019 playoffs and a catastrophic sweep at the hands of neighbourhood ball club Boston Celtics in 2020.
Misfortune has for sure played its part, with Kawhi Leonard receiving a gift from the basketball gods as the ball bounced on the rim 4 agonising times before finally dropping to sink the Sixers in game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals and pave the way for a historic first championship for Toronto. Fast forward to 2020 and all star guard Ben Simmons had to watch the Boston series from the operating table as he sustained a season-ending knee injury before the series even began.
But there were deeper issues at play here. Amplified most perhaps by the loss of Jimmy Butler to the eventual Eastern Conference champions Miami Heat, he recently eloquently pointed out “I didn’t know who the fuck was in charge”. The return on investment on the process has also been sub par, inconsistencies in their franchise superstars have left sixer fans tearing their hair out and asking Joel Embiid if he wouldn’t mind occasionally putting the ball in the hoop as well as running his mouth. Also, despite some impressive offseason footage with zero defence, Ben Simmons still can’t shoot, but you already knew that. In fact, following the loss of J.J. Reddick, shooting seems to have left the team entirely.
But, Sixer fans, despite that damning introduction, things might be looking up.
Doc Rivers is in town, fresh off his own disappointments out west, and appears to be equipped to deal with the multitude of issues plaguing this franchise. The leadership void Jimmy Butler was alluding to is one that Doc is more than capable of filling. A veteran coach of some of the biggest egos the sport has ever seen; Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul. If he can’t get the Sixer superstars firing, nobody can.
The Sixers shooting woes have also been receiving attention with additions of flame thrower Seth Curry and (sometimes) dependable 3 and D vet Danny Green, sending Josh Richardson and Al Horford’s ridiculous contract the other way which is sure to add some much needed shooting and spacing to the Sixers offence. This is a breath of fresh air for all star Ben Simmons who’s superb vision and generational on-ball talent has been masked by clogged lanes caused by lacklustre shooting. Simmons needs space to use his skills to penetrate and find easy looks for his teammates and himself, with more shooting, his explosive drives should be decongested and allow his talents to flourish.
But the biggest question mark for the Sixers is their Maverick big man Joel Embiid. This will be his defining season. Primarily, he needs to transform his body, getting injured is no longer an option for Joel who has not been able to sustain his fitness with knee, back and ankle injuries that date back to his rookie season. But his on-court performance needs to transform as well. Joel needs touches in an around the basket not up at the three point line for the Sixers to succeed this year, collapsing defences with his inside presence, freeing up his teammates for easy looks. Joel should look to profit off the attention of Simmons’ drives and cash in on easy dump offs near the basket as well as experimenting more in the pick and roll.
What makes this Sixers team so fascinating is their unpredictability. The answer to the question of whether they can compete in the East this year is far from simple as it largely on the shoulders of 2 men, if Embiid and Simmons can figure it out, they will be Eastern Conference contenders this year, the new look roster and superstar head coach should give them the best chance to succeed. If they can’t figure it out, the process is dead in the water.
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