The New-Look 76ers : A Look Ahead

Article By Tim Bonfig of Philadelphia Sports Nation

With the addition of Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, Mike Scott, James Ennis, and Jonathon Simmons at the NBA Trade Deadline, The Philadelphia 76ers now boast a star-studded starting five with an improved bench.

Looking ahead, expectations will be sky-high and a ton of pressure is going to be placed on Coach Brett Brown. Will the 76ers meet their lofty expectations?

The Philadelphia 76ers starting lineup consisting of Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid has the potential to arguably be the best starting five in all of basketball for the next few years to come. Adding forward Tobias Harris into the starting lineup allows the 76ers to present a ton of mismatches against their opponents in many ways.

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To start, Tobias Harris shoots an impressive .437% from the 3pt line on 4.7 attempts per game. Insert Tobias Harris’ catch and shoot 3pt game with the already impressive sharpshooter JJ Redick, the 76ers spacing in the half court becomes significantly better.  Having these guys on the perimeter will make teams think twice about double teaming MVP candidate Joel Embiid in the paint thus making life much easier for the big man down low. In transition, Tobias Harris has the ability to push the ball up and down the court creating different looks for defenses who would normally see Ben Simmons in such a role. When he’s not pushing the ball, he draws the attention of the defense away from the paint which would then free up open lanes for Ben to exploit for an easy bucket. The length and versatility that exists in the starting lineup provides Coach Brett Brown with a ton of options to play with moving forward.

Adding new faces to the 76ers bench was a big step towards contention in the Eastern Conference with teams like the Bucks, Raptors, and Celtics already posing deep talented rosters. Boban Marjanovic, Mike Scott, James Ennis, and Jonathon Simmons all provide the 76ers with more options and depth to compete with the other beasts of the east. Come playoff time when the rotations usually shrink to 9 players, Coach Brett Brown, in the 27 games left, is going to have to find out who best compliments the starting five of Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid. 

Looking ahead to the upcoming schedule, the Philadelphia 76ers play the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks twice. With 9 of the 27 games left in the regular season against the upper echelon teams of the NBA, the 76ers have a nice couple of tests ahead to truly see who they are and what they can be.

It remains to be seen on whether or not the Philadelphia 76ers can meet their lofty expectations and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since the Allen Iverson led Sixers team in 2000-2001. For now as a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers I couldn’t be more excited for whats to come in the near future.