Written by Matt Green
Image o Philadelphia 76er Tyrese Maxey against the Toronto Raptors during Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round at Wells Fargo Center on April 16, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | Retrieved from Gettyimages.
Are the 2024 76ers Real Title Contenders?
Just when it seems like the Philadelphia 76ers have the pieces to surround Joel Embiid, the reigning MVP goes down with an injury.
76ers fans have longed for a team that can go on a serious run. Among many, the consensus is that the team has been floating on the bubble of title contention since 2017. All-star players, veterans, and emerging talent have come and went through Philadelphia over the past seven years. The current team has all of those puzzle pieces, but the question is, will the result of a second-round playoff loss be repeated like it has been in five of the last six post-seasons?
Why They Could Be
Anything can happen in the realm of professional sports. Every year, there is an NFL team that upsets a sportsbook favorite, an MLB team that sneaks into the Playoffs, and an NBA team that takes a top-four-seed to seven games. The Philadelphia 76ers have the talent to be a team that can make noise in the Playoffs, but there are a lot of things that have to fall into place.
First off, Joel Embiid has to be healthy. Without him this season, the team is 7-15; however, franchise officials remain optimistic that he will return this season.
According to NBC insider John Clark, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said, "You know, I think he's happy. Likes some of the new additions. He's looking around, thinks the team's getting better. He really, told me, really looks out there, he said, 'Really want to be out there.' You know? So, let's see what happens."
If Embiid is out there, there will be a lot less pressure on the surrounding players. Tyrese Maxey is an NBA All-Star. and he is a great second option; however, him as the team's leading scorer is not yet viable enough for title contention.
The same goes for Tobias Harris. He is a solid third or fourth option, but moving him up the pecking order to the team's second leading shot-taker is not a recipe for success.
After those two, Buddy Hield, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Kyle Lowry round out the roster's most significant contributors. If all of them shoot efficiently and hold their own on the defensive end, the 76ers can beat any team in the NBA. With that said, those are a lot of "ifs." For Philadelphia to seriously compete in the NBA Playoffs, they need Embiid healthy alongside the best possible version of all of their role players. If one guy is not efficient enough in a seven-game series, it will not be enough for the team to advance.
Could Joel Embiid return to the Sixers before the playoffs?
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 21, 2024
Check out @jclarknbcs's full interview with Sixers head coach Nick Nurse on the latest episode of the Takeoff podcast. 🛫 🎧 https://t.co/k8arMN9Q2O pic.twitter.com/MJguaggv2X
The Thing Holding Them Back
Defense wins championships, and right now, the Philadelphia 76ers are not a strong defensive team. In terms of defensive rating, they are on the outside looking in of the top ten teams in the league. That may not be bad for a playoff team, but for a title contender, it is subpar. The 2021-22 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors had the best defensive rating in the league that season. Their NBA Finals opponent, the Boston Celtics, had the second best rating.
Behind the injured Joel Embiid, the next best individual defender the team has is Tobias Harris with a defensive rating of 112.8. That ranks 44th in the league. Back of him is Tyrese Maxey, who's defensive rating of 113.9 has him sitting as the 49th best defensive player in the league. The next 76er on the list is De'Anthony Melton, who just returned from injury himself, at number 72.
In can be assumed that with Joel Embiid, who is ranked as the 19th premier defender in the league this season, the team's defensive rating will go up. The question remains, would that be enough to stop teams like the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Playoffs? Last season, the team ranked eighth in the NBA in defense, yet still lost to the Celtics in the Playoffs with a healthy Embiid.
With a weaker defense on paper, a more injured team, and a stronger Eastern Conference, many people still find it hard to see the 76ers being any better this post-season than they have been in recent years. As of right now, everything points to the 76ers not being real title contenders this season, even if all of the team's "ifs" turn into facts.
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