FanPost

Sixers-Pistons Potential Playoff Preview

This is a series about the potential opponents that the Sixers could face in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Due to Philly moving into the 3-seed yesterday, for the first entry, I am going to start with the team that the Sixers would play if the regular season ended today.

That would be the Detroit Pistons, in a 3 vs 6 seed matchup. The Pistons have been playing very well as of late, but the Sixers have the advantage in the season head-to-head matchup, and I believe Philly to be a better overall team.

POINT GUARD

Reggie Jackson-Ben Simmons: ADVANTAGE – Simmons

SHOOTING GUARD

Bruce Brown-JJ Redick: ADVANTAGE – Redick

SMALL FORWARD

Wayne Ellington-Jimmy Butler: ADVANTAGE – Butler

POWER FORWARD

Blake Griffin-Tobias Harris: ADVANTAGE – Draw

CENTER

Andre Drummond-Joel Embiid: ADVANTAGE – Embiid

The Sixers definitely have the stronger starting lineup, with clear advantages at four out of the five positions. The power forward spot is a toss-up, although I believe that Harris is a more valuable player, even if he may not be better from a pure talent perspective, and the numbers may also show Griffin to be better, because Detroit will rely on him significantly more than Philadelphia will rely on Harris.

Philadelphia will also go into this potential series enjoying the home-court advantage, the better regular season record as well as the advantage in the head-to-head series.

Philadelphia has three go-to scorers in Joel, Jimmy and Tobias, a great playmaker and transition terror with Simmons, and an elite shooter in Redick. We also have three outstanding defensive players (Jo, Ben and Butler) with one of them being a DPOY candidate, and average defender with good size in Harris, leaving us with only one below average defender.

Detroit has some interesting pieces and some good players, namely Griffin and Drummond, while Jackson and Ellington can both get hot. However, Embiid typically outplays Drummond, and the Sixers will unquestionably have the best player on the court. You could easily make the argument that the Sixers have the top-3 or even the top-4 players on the court, and certainly four out of the top five. i expect Detroit to take one of the games at home, but Philadelphia should take care of business rather quickly in this series.

PREDICTION: Sixers in 5

Also, this is my first time posting a poll, I'd love to hear what what outcome you guys think is most likely! Feel free to vote for the result you think will happen!



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