After their most successful season in more than a decade, the 76ers are re-tooling to try to push themselves into the NBA Finals.
The Philadelphia 76ers had an interesting offseason after one of their most successful seasons they’ve had in years. With a fully healthy Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for the first time, the 76ers won 52 games and beat the Miami Heat in the first round, before losing to Boston in six games in the second round. Ben Simmons won Rookie of the Year, Joel Embiid became an All-Star for the first time, and despite the Markelle Fultz Mystery taking over much of the conversation about the team, it finally looked like Philadelphia’s future as a Finals contender seemed to arrive.
This year, the Sixers are going to try to build on that promise by taking over the newly LeBron-less Eastern Conference. With Simmons just turning 22, and Embiid 24, there’s a high probability that both players will be able to make improvements this year, further boosting that ceiling. Fultz’s health could further push that ceiling higher. That trio is surrounded by many of the same role players who filled out the roster last year — J.J. Redick, Dario Saric, T.J. McConnell, and Robert Covington are all back in their supporting roles. The team does lose some depth – Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova, who were instrumental in beating the Heat, are both gone, as is backup center Richaun Holmes – and the team has replaced them with a combination of underrated veterans and interesting young players. Can those players fit into the rotation and contribute in the same way? Let’s look at the potential rotation, position-by-position.