2017-18 Record: 52-30 (third in East)
Players Added: Wilson Chandler (trade), Mike Muscala (trade), Zhaire Smith (draft), Landry Shamet (draft), Shake Milton (draft)
Players Lost: Justin Anderson (trade), Marco Belinelli (free agent), Richaun Holmes (trade), Ersan Ilyasova (free agent), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (trade)
Projected Team MVP: Joel Embiid
Coming into last season, the big question surrounding Embiid was whether or not he could stay healthy for an entire season. If he could, he had superstar potential. If not, the Sixers were going to be put into an awkward spot when it comes to their future, because so much of it revolves around Embiid.
Philadelphia breathed a sigh of relief, as Embiid played 60 games and looked like he was worth the years of waiting they did as he got past the injuries that delayed the start of his career. He missed a little time during the 2017-18 campaign, sure, but in 60 games, Embiid was electric, a legitimate two-way center who is capable of doing just about anything on the basketball court.
There’s still plenty of room for him to grow as a player — stop turning the ball over so much, Joel! — but as his game rounds out, the Sixers will become more and more dangerous. Embiid has the potential to be the best player in the NBA some day, and if the Sixers want to compete to win the East this year, he’ll have to join the league’s elite in 2018-19.
X-Factor: Markelle Fultz
This should be obvious. If Fultz’s struggles are anywhere near what happened last year amid his mysterious shoulder injury, it’s really hard to imagine Philadelphia getting past Boston or Toronto in the Eastern Conference. However, should Fultz play up to his considerable talent as a former No. 1 overall pick, he fills the Sixers’ biggest need: A playmaker on the perimeter who can score and create for his teammates. If that’s not an x-factor, I don’t know what is.
Best Case Scenario:
Embiid makes the leap into superstardom, Fultz gives off enough young James Harden vibes that he’s the league’s Most Improved Player, and Ben Simmons takes a gigantic step forward as a scorer. Really, those three players are the key to things in Philadelphia this year — The Process was all about getting stars, and while players like Dario Saric, Robert Covington, and J.J. Redick are all really good, Embiid, Fultz, and Simmons are the stars that can turn the Sixers into title contenders.
Still, in the best-case scenario, the “role players” are the best versions of themselves. Saric is a dynamic playmaking wing who, as we saw last year, is quite the shooter, Covington is one of the league’s premier three-and-d players, Redick is dynamite from downtown, and the remaining pieces (whether veterans like Wilson Chandler and Amir Johnson or young dudes like Zhaire Smith and T.J. McConnell) all fill their roles perfectly.
If all of this happens, Philadelphia is going to make a strong push for winning the Eastern Conference. A title might not be in their grasp yet, but with how young the team’s core is, waiting another year or two is fine.
Worst Case Scenario:
Philadelphia was bolstered last season by a 16-game winning streak to end the season. The issue was 13 of those wins came against non-playoff teams, which a pessimist would say was a case of a decent team feasting on bad teams. I don’t think that’s the case, but if it was, it’s plausible that the Sixers aren’t as far along as some might think.
Embiid missing a chunk of time, along with Fultz struggling like he did last year, would certainly hurt. Same with Simmons’ offensive game not becoming more robust and including a consistent jumper. This lower’s the team’s collective ceiling, which means that players like the Sarics and the Redicks aren’t able to do what they do to the best of their abilities.
Regardless, the Sixers should make the playoffs. The different between the best and worst case scenarios are when their postseasons end — the former would be in the NBA Finals, the latter would be in the first or second round.
