How many wins should the improved Sixers expect after their offseason additions?
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After a 51-win regular season, the Sixers were once again unable to advance past the second round. With locker room turmoil due to Ben Simmons refusing to play after being criticized by Coach Doc Rivers and teammate Joel Embiid, many had picked the Sixers to take a step back and miss the playoffs. Despite this, they were able to stay afloat due to the MVP-level play of Embiid and the breakout of second-year star Tyrese Maxey. Additionally, with a major trade for 2018 MVP James Harden midway through the season, the team did not have a full training camp to learn how to play together, a luxury this year's team will have.
After losing to the Heat primarily due to a lack of physicality and toughness, general manager Daryl Morey went out and signed two of his former players and traded for a third to fill this void. Signing PJ Tucker to a three-year, $33.2 million deal was his first signing. A few minutes after this deal, Morey convinced Danuel House to join on a two-year, $8.5 million deal. And during the draft, Morey traded injured Danny Green and the 23rd pick to Memphis for guard De'Anthony Melton.
After trading Simmons, and while dealing with his absence, the Sixers lacked in many areas they had excelled with him a year earlier. The biggest issue was in going from a massive lineup that wore teams down with size and physicality to a team that lacked any size whatsoever without Embiid on the court. The team was also hurt by the lack of a top-tier defender like Simmons, who could not only ignite the team's transition offense but also guard 1-5 at a shutdown level.
Tucker will help immensely with filling that void. Tucker is one of the best one-on-one defenders of the past decade and is immensely strong, making things difficult for even giants like Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo. He is also incredibly versatile and even guarded guards like Devin Booker and Harden to great success in the last two playoff runs. The dude defends virtually everyone and will help the Sixers get back to the level they were at with Simmons defensively.
Tucker is not a great offensive player, but he at least forces teams to guard him. He is a strong screener due to his big frame and an underrated passer who consistently makes the right play and never tries to do too much, a luxury on a team with a well-established offensive hierarchy. Tucker also led the league in corner threes last year and is an above-average spot-up shooter who will take advantage of the open looks Embiid, Harden, Maxey, and Harris generate.
House was a starter last time he played with Harden. While he won't likely start on this team, he is similar to Tucker in that he is a hustler and a three and D wing. House is a solid shooter and will occasionally surprise fans with his offensive skills. He is not elite in any area but is an above-average shooter and defender. He also has some ability to put the ball on the floor and will put down the occasional alley-oop. House is also solid in transition and may develop a nice rhythm with Maxey.
Next, Melton is another similarly versatile player who is solid in many areas. Still improving and just 23 years old, Melton gave the Grizzlies lockdown defense last season. While he stands just 6-foot-2, Melton has an almost 6-foot-9 wingspan which helps him wreak havoc in passing lines and allowed him to rank third in the NBA in steals per 36 minutes this past season. Notably, the second-ranked player was Matisse Thybulle which should enable the Sixers to put some pretty versatile defenses on the court. These players will also help give more transition opportunities to Maxey, one of the league's better transition scorers. Melton's strengths don't end there, however. Per 36 minutes, Melton put up 17.2 points per game, hitting three threes, grabbing 7.1 boards, and dishing out 4.2 dimes. So this guy would start on many teams and will likely grab a big raise once his contract ends.
So the baseline appears to be 51 wins for this team, assuming everyone stays somewhat healthy. The team only had Harden for a small part of last season and gave up most of their depth to acquire him. This year they will have an entire summer to figure things out and were able to not only replenish their depth but likely improve it. Melton, Milton, Thybulle, House, Niang, and Paul Reed are all capable of providing playoff minutes, and Rivers will have lots of options against any team the Sixers face. Last year, Rivers was forced to play Niang against the Heat even while he was not making shots, but this year he can remove a player when they play badly or are a terrible fit for a specific matchup. This team can likely increase their win total by at least five games and should be a strong contender to win 60 games.
