NBA Playoffs 2018: 5 biggest x-factors
By Wes Goldberg
4. Dario Saric
The Philadelphia 76ers are in the in vogue dark horse contender to come out of the Eastern Conference, but they won’t have a chance if Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid succumb to their lack of playoff experience.
We can use some if/then statements to guess how the 76ers will do in the playoffs:
If Simmons can overcome his shaky jumper by doing all the things he’s done in the regular season — i.e. spacing the floor by being a passing magician and finishing around the rim at an elite rate — then he’ll be just as effective in the playoffs as he was in the regular season.
If Embiid recovers fully from his broken face, then Embiid will be awesome as usual.
If the Sixers are to make it to the conference finals, then it means Simmons and Embiid checked off those boxes. However, they’ll need more than those two and a solid supporting cast to make it that far.
They’ll need a third player to break out. Looking at the contenders, J.J. Redick has been playing really well lately, especially with Embiid out. As Liberty Ballers’ Tom West wrote, Redick is averaging 22.8 points per 36 minutes in the time he’s played with Embiid off the court, compared to 18.9 when Embiid is on. Redick could get hot in the playoffs and win Philadelphia a game, but he’s been consistent all year and has hit his ceiling for this team.
Robert Covington? They’ll need his all-NBA defense, especially in a showdown vs. the Cavaliers, but he is what he is: A highly effective 3-and-D, glue guy.
Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova were good mid-season additions, but they aren’t taking you to the Finals.
Enter Dario Saric.
Saric is like 2014 Boris Diaw on steroids with an emo haircut. His jumper has come along this season, making 39.3 percent of his 5.1 3-pointers per game, and his passing takes a backseat only to Simmons. As a floor spacer and secondary creator, an elevated Saric could be Philadelphia’s ticket to higher places.
Defenses will key in on Embiid and Simmons. They’ll try to force Embiid to dribble by blitzing him in the post and on the perimeter and hope for turnovers. They’ll put their stoutest perimeter defenders on Simmons and dare him to shoot. Saric could feast on the extra space by making open jumpers in the corner or finding teammates for good looks.