The 76ers have exceeded most expectations so far, can they keep it up?
Photo by Bill Streicher
When the season began most of the expectations for the Philadelphia 76ers were negative and had the team taking a step back this year, however that has not been the case so far this season. The 76ers have one of the top spots in the East and have looked better than many expected. Joel Embiid has continued his MVP ways this season as he has averaged 34.6 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game and a career-high six assists per game. He is also in the early conversation for MVP once again for his efforts this season. Even though he has been the main reason for Philadelphia’s success this season, he hasn’t been the only reason.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwe/Getty Images
Another bright spot for the 76ers this season has been the play of Point Guard Tyrese Maxey as he leads the team in assists and has provided a much needed second scoring option for the team. He scored a career-high 50 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers proving that he is a lethal scorer that can aid the 76ers in their journey to an NBA championship. Maxey had shown signs of great potential in the past and now this season he has been given the opportunity to showcase his skills as the team’s starting point guard. While the team has exceeded expectations and won a lot of games so far this season, can they keep it up all the way to the playoffs? Being healthy is the biggest factor to the 76ers making the playoffs. Something worthy to note is that Embiid has missed eight games this season and if he misses more, that might spell doom for this team. This team has the talent to keep consistently winning games but health will be the deciding factor to their season.
the road ahead
Since 2018 the 76ers have been eliminated from the playoffs in the second round five times. It seems as though the team just hasn’t been able to get over that hump in the playoffs to advance into the conference finals. As currently constructed this 76ers team is very talented and has some great players that can lead them to success, but they might be missing one piece to ultimately get over that hump still. It might be unlikely for the 76ers to land a superstar before the trade deadline but there could be other possibilities to improve this roster. If the 76ers can improve this roster, then they might be able to get deep into the playoffs and past the second round which would exceed expectations tremendously.
