Drastic Measures: 76ers now ready to go for a late-season charge after the All-Star break based on these four(4) bold Moves
With the Philadelphia 76ers now ready to go for a late-season charge after the All-Star break, here are four bold predictions for the team for the rest of the season.
The All-Star break is now officially over, and the Philadelphia 76ers are slated to resume play tonight against the New York Knicks. The next 28 games will decide where the team ends up heading into the postseason — a glaringly crucial factor that could determine their fate.
As we inch closer to the finish line, here are four bold predictions for the 76ers for the rest of the season.
1. 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey will lead the Eastern Conference in scoring post All-Star break
Joel Embiid’s return from injury is uncertain, but what’s definite is that Tyrese Maxey will now rise as the alpha guy on the interim on the offensive end. And after his first experience playing in the All-Star game, look for him to erupt even more as a scorer and lead the East in points per outing during that stretch.
Maxey has registered 25.5 points per outing in games where Embiid was sidelined, but that should increase moving forward. More concentric and laser-focused defense from opponents could make life tougher for him, but he will have the necessary volume to turn in nightly explosions and give the 76ers a better chance to win games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell are the two-highest scorers in the East on a per-game basis at 30.8 and 28.4 points per contest, respectively, but Maxey has the tools to surpass those numbers and go much further than his current 25.7 points scoring average.
2. Buddy Hield will average north of 20 points per game for the 76ers
Since arriving to Philadelphia from Indiana, Buddy Hield has been a big force as a scorer, tallying 22.3 points per outing in four appearances so far. Look for that number to hover around where it currently is for the rest of the campaign.
Nick Nurse has given Hield the ultimate green light to fire away from anywhere on the court and it has paid off in a major way. The veteran sharpshooter has canned 45 percent of his three-point tries on a Curry-like 10 attempts a night. But even is his conversion rate declines a bit, Hield’s volume shooting ensures that he will always be an eye-popper in the boxscore, for better or for worse.
Hield is expected to remain in the starting unit even with De’Anthony Melton returning from a long absence. Add that to the fact that the coaching staff has given him a robust serving of court time, and the 76ers will surely have another 20-point scorer on the team as they try to hold down the fort without Embiid as a collective.
3. The 76ers fall all the way into the play-in tournament bracket
As of writing, Philadelphia is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 32-22 win-loss card. They are two games ahead of Indiana for the final guaranteed playoff spot, but are also just 2.5 games away from Orlando, the current eight-seeded team.
The 76ers are not exactly hopeless and are at least guaranteed to be in the top-eight (thanks to Chicago and Atlanta having losing records ), but their favors might stop there. They have the ninth-toughest schedule remaining while the Pacers have the 12th easiest slate. Not so convinced? The Heat have the fourth easiest schedule remaining. Still overly optimistic? The Magic have the least intimidating slate to end the season.
Realistically speaking, Philly is likely to end up in the seventh to eight range, which isn’t all that undesirable. After all, this gives them two tries to get into the playoffs as they gear up for what could be an interesting 2024 postseason, which brings us to…
4. Joel Embiid RETURNS, but the 76ers draw an unfavorable first-round matchup
Joel Embiid will miss more than a month still at the very minimum, and while the jury is predisposed on the negative as regards the reigning MVP’s return to play, it’s not too unreasonable to believe that the superstar will try to come back for the playoffs — a possibility that the 76ers have openly acknowledge and obviously prefer.
That being said, the 76ers’ season may not last much longer, as they could very well draw an unfavorable first-round matchup should they truly slide in the standings. If they go through the play-in wall to get to the playoffs, they will be matched up with either the Celtics or most likely the Cavaliers — the two undisputed best teams in the East since the calendar flipped.
Should Embiid return, it’s almost a guarantee that he will be on a very stringent minutes restriction, giving them a handicap against Boston’s parade of scorers and shooters, and Cleveland’s slew of physical big men and newfound perimeter firepower. Tough luck.
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