FanPost

Possible for Sixers to Snag 8th Seed? Why This Year is Different

Disclaimer: Most likely the 76ers will not make the playoffs and will end up in the draft lottery for the fourth year in a row. But what I will be talking about in this post is how this season will be different than the last three and why the 15-16 season 76ers have a better chance at reaching the playoffs than the Sixer teams that took the court the last two seasons. Here are the three main differences/factors:

1. Shooting, Shooting, and more Shooting

I can't stress enough how much a difference good shooting can make for a team. Last year the only two players on the team that could be considered a "good shooter" was Hollis Thompson(40.1% from three-point range), and Robert Covington(37.4% from three) who wasn't even on the team until mid-November. This summer GM Sam Hinkie has brought in four more players who can stretch the floor in Kendall Marshall(39.1% from three last season), Pierre Jackson(35% from three in D-League on 8.4 attempts per game), Nik Stauskas(42.1% after all star break), and Scottie Wilbekin. If there's one thing championship teams have in common, it's that they have multiple players that can stretch the floor consistently and when a team has these type players around a guy who draws double teams, that team can be lethal. The 76ers have also acquired a double team-drawing player this summer. More on him in the next factor/difference.

2. Young & Dominant Frontcourt

Without debate the 76ers now have hands down the best collection of young big-men in the league with Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, and Dario Saric. Even though Embiid and Saric won't be available until next season, the Sixers will still have a great front court in Noel, Okafor, and Carl Landry. It is no secret the cream of the crop of front courts is in the Western Conference with guys like Tim Duncan, Lamarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, and an up and coming Karl-Anthony Towns. The Sixers tandem would definitely hold their own out there, but playing against the weaker front courts of the eastern conference only helps the Sixers as far as wins and losses go. What is so special about the Sixers current front court is that they should be dominant on both sides of the ball. On the defensive end, the Sixers have a defensive superstar in Nerlens Noel who not only is the only player as a rookie besides David Robinson to average more than 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in a season(Also was 4 years younger than when Robinson did it), but was also ranked fourth in the entire league in defensive box plus minus and had the eight best defensive rating according to basketball-reference.com. Now onto offense. Remember that guy I talked about that draws double teams? Well that's Jahlil Okafor aka the #3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and the undisputed leader of the 2015 NCAA men's basketball national championship team. Now I know he hasn't played a minute of NBA ball yet(Although he was great in the Summer League), but just watching him play with his 7'6 foot wingspan(according to draftexpress.com), 275 pound frame, and foot work display that you only see with a handful of NBA big guys in this era like Tim Duncan and Al Jefferson, you can't help but to think he will be a force to be reckoned with. It makes it even sweeter that the Sixers now have the six shooters I talked about in the first point to surround Okafor. When Okafor gets good post position, it is almost a given that he will either make a bucket, or get fouled(or both). So teams will be forced to double him and that leads to three point bombs from the shooters I was talking about. An underrated part from Noel and Okafor's game is that they are both good and soon to be great passers for their position. This team now has the blueprint for an elite offense and there is one guy perfect for the job to tie it all together. He's the last factor.

Take a look at the offensive comparisons for Jahlil Okafor from DraftExpress.com

3. Brett Brown

At the end of the day players win games, but nothing hurts a team like a terrible coach(*Looks at Eddie Jordan). Sixers fans can rest easy knowing that Head Coach Brett Brown is not one of those terrible coaches. Brown, a Gregg Popovich disciple like Mike Budenholzer(coached Hawks to 60+ win season and 1st seed), knows all about the need for spacing and how to utilize it with great big men from being in the San Antonio Spurs corner for so long. Out of this whole rebuild Sam Hinkie's signing of Brett Brown two years ago has been to me the most underrated and crucial part of it. When a coach like Brown is paired with a cohesive, young, and talent heavy team like the new era 76ers, great things are to be expected in the future. Whether that entails a playoff run this year or not remains to be seen.



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