Why This Year’s 76ers Don’t Have the Same Buzz Around Them as the 2017–18 Team
To say the very least, the 2018-19 76ers have frustrated fans over the past couple of months. After a roster overhaul that unfolded throughout the season, it’s no secret that without a quick turnaround, the team will have the same destiny as last year’s team. There is no doubt that this time around, it would sting just a little bit more.
1: Struggles against non-playoff competition
It’s hard to put a finger on a single reason why the Sixers have had so much trouble this year with weaker teams, but what comes across to the regular viewer as obvious is the team’s lack of intensity and alertness on the defensive end. Fans should understand that at the end of a long, 7-month regular season, it’s hard to put away teams at the same rate as you had at the season’s beginning. The Sixers have taken this problem to a whole new level this season, however.
Wednesday night’s loss to Atlanta comes to mind. As soon as Atlanta’s Trae Young and John Collins sensed the team’s lack of interest in making switches and getting out on jump shooters, they proceeded to attack relentlessly. A team that had won just 30% of their games this year had slowly found a way to knock down long balls on drive-and-kick after drive-and-kick. Their young bench was no less effective, contributing 33 points in the team’s 130 point effort. Much of the same can be said about the Maverick’s route of the team two days earlier. When the Sixers are energized and ready to go on the defensive end out of the gate, they have had no trouble causing the Warriors, Bucks, Lakers, and Thunder to struggle with their various offensive sets and star players. These flashes of defensive tenacity against the league’s best should not go unnoticed, but the playoffs is a whole new season. It needs to be brought every single night, or else.
2. Last Year’s 16-Game Win Streak
Fans who followed last year’s Sixers remember the team’s brilliant 16-game run to end the regular season, which included a whopping zero losses. What should be noted here is that most of this stretch was played without the team’s far and away best player, Joel Embiid. More on this later.
Anyways, the win streak had people in the city excited about the team and its playoff potential. After a first half of the regular season that analysts had used to assume that the team would end in around the Eastern conference’s 4 or 5 seed, the 16-game run showed that the team was going to make a point of doing their business every single night, even without their best player. That being said, the team’s strength of schedule throughout this run was extremely favorable. Regardless, the common narrative throughout the city was something along the lines of “if the team can play this well over such a long period of time without their best player, the potential is limitless once Embiid returns.” While this year’s team could use some of this optimism from its fans, its recent play will not garner it anything of the sort before the first round begins next week on April 13th.
3. Lineup Consistency: The injury bug and “load management”
Since the All-Star break, Sixers superstar and MVP candidate Joel Embiid has gone on-and-off with soreness in his left knee. Embiid missed the entirety of the last week’s road trip to the Midwest and South and has almost stopped practicing and participating in shootarounds altogether. Embiid’s return to the floor on Wednesday vs Milwaukee was encouraging, but the extent to which “load management” will be necessary as the playoffs approach will be something to keep an eye on. It’s safe to say that the team has struggled mightily without him on the floor, posting a 7-10 record in such games this season.
Jimmy Butler has also missed time on-and-off since last week’s trip to Minneapolis, hurting his lower back while attempting to finish an alley-oop. His status will also be monitored closely this week. If healthy, Butler will be one of the best 4th quarter scoring options on a 2019 playoff team.
James Ennis will also miss the next two weeks with a quad contusion. Rookie guards Shake Milton and Zhaire Smith have done their best in his absence, but it’s clear Brett Brown doesn’t see them playing significant playoff minutes. This is a significant blow to the Sixers’ already-struggling bench for the first week of the playoffs.
Playoff predictions and any other thoughts? Comment below.
Featured Image: Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
