The 3 Biggest Threats to a Sixers’ 2020 NBA Championship
With the dust seemingly settled as it relates to meaningful offseason activity around the league, it’s time to speculate what could potentially derail the Sixers’ impending quest for the 2020 Larry O’Brien Trophy.
As currently constructed, this year’s squad looks as potent as ever and ready to make some noise around the league. Hence, the bigger potential threats to the Sixers’ pursuit of an NBA title can be found internally.
1) A Significant Injury
In this day and age we all know it’s inevitable for a star player to miss games due to “load management” or “rest” in order for a team to satisfy their plan to preserve said player, and don’t get me wrong I especially support this for a franchise centerpiece such as Joel Embiid. The reality is that the entire Sixers’ starting 5 will be dressed in sport coats at some point this upcoming season during games they would otherwise have suited up for (no pun intended) if tip-off had been in mid-April. The real danger to the Sixers’ quest for next year’s title lies in the scenario of a meaningful player’s “Out” status for a late-January slate against the Knicks carrying over to a late-May Game 7 vs. the Bucks in the 2020 ECF.
The sky is truly the limit for the Sixers: Ben Simmons will almost certainly enter the year with a semblance of a jump shot, Tobias Harris along with the additions of Richardson and Horford actually have time to be integrated into Brett Brown’s offensive and defensive sets BEFORE the season starts, and Joel Embiid will have had another offseason to get his body right. Hence, a major, inopportune injury is the main threat at this point to the ultimate success of the Sixers’ 19-20 campaign.
2) An Absence of Clutch Shot Making
Sticking to the theme of a possible internal hazard, the next biggest threat to a Sixers’ title stems from the offensive end of the floor. It’s safe to say this retooled roster can defend and then some, but the question that still lingers with any new group like this is who will show up when it matters on the other end. The sum of the parts doesn’t matter when it’s Game 7 at Wells Fargo Center, down 1 with 10 seconds left, and the ball can only be in ONE player’s hands. Will it be Ben, Tobias, Joel, Josh, or even Al? Year after year, championship teams are made of championship players who hit daggers, game-tiers, and game-winners.
Now, it goes without saying, the Sixers have plenty of talent and some time to figure out who’s gonna be THE GUY in crunch time, but for now we can only wonder which number Brett Brown will call upon to step up and hopefully create a moment which will forever be memorialized in Sixers history.
3) Oh Yeah, There’s That Infamous Guy in LA Now
Sure the Bucks won 60 games last year and broke Sixers’ fans hearts by adding Kyle Korver, but they lost Malcolm Brogdon and don’t present the most formidable matchups against the Sixers due to the presence of Josh Richardson and Al Horford on both ends of the floor. The Sixers find the toughest potential test on their road to the 2020 NBA Finals at the very last stop: the LA Clippers.
The Clippers are arguably the only team that can field a defensive starting five which rivals the Sixers. Most people probably saw how pesky Patrick Beverley was guarding Kevin Durant this past postseason. I for one, would not look forward to a possible Beverley-Simmons matchup at all. Additionally, the chaos some variation of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Montrezl Harrell could cause against Harris, Horford, and Embiid would take some adjusting for Brett Brown to get used to.
Offensively, Kawhi Leonard has already shown how sour a taste he’s capable of leaving in Sixers’ fans mouths, and one can only hope the Basketball Gods show leniency as it relates to a Landry Shamet revenge game(s) in a possible Finals matchup vs. the Sixers.
Photo: Bruno Manrique/clutchpoints.com
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Categorized:Sixers