The [Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.libertyballers.com) have won four of their last five games, rising to 12th place in the Eastern Conference. As The Postal Service sang, they will see us waving from such great heights. Jokes aside, this stretch has dispelled any notion that the team should commit to a tank this season.
That idea was always entirely unrealistic, anyway. Sure, Philadelphia could have shut down Joel Embiid for the year, even if you ignore the risk that such a move would compel a trade demand from the big man next year and the franchise would be forced to sell at the lowest of lows. But were the Sixers going to have Paul George end his season because of a bone bruise that ended up sidelining him for a couple weeks? Of course not, and as we’ve seen, having two All-Star-caliber players in George and Tyrese Maxey, plus a supporting cast built with championship contention in mind, is more than enough to win a fair share of games in the rotting carcass known as today’s Eastern Conference.
We also saw Embiid return to the court on Sunday, looking like a reasonable facsimile of his old self in accruing 31 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes against Chicago. That glimmer of hope got folks thinking whether this season could get back on track. What’s the new best-case scenario for where these Sixers could wind up?
Prior to the season, the Sixers were projected to win 52 games. For argument’s sake, let’s say they hover around that level of play for the rest of the season; maybe Jared McCain’s emergence as a rookie difference-maker and Guerschon Yabusele beating expectations as a rock-solid rotation player offset Embiid being slightly less available than anticipated. Playing at that level the rest of the way would mean the Sixers would win 38 of their remaining 60 games and finish 45-37 for the season.
Fortunately, while that record might mean missing the playoffs in the West, that mark leaves a team at least firmly in the Play-In Tournament in the East. With fifth-seed Miami currently just 12-10, I don’t think shooting for the fifth or sixth seed and avoiding the Play-In Tournament entirely is at all out of the question.
About a quarter of the way through the season, it’s clear that Boston and Cleveland are in a top tier in the East, but the second tier of Orlando and New York, while formidable, doesn’t seem out of the Sixers’ league. We just saw them go toe-and-toe with the Magic for two games; Orlando didn’t have Paolo Banchero, but the Sixers didn’t have Embiid for either contest or George for one of them. Philadelphia just needs to play a tiny bit above that 52-win pace, and they can grab the sixth seed. Then, they’d be right back where they were last season, a first-round playoff series against an opponent like New York or Orlando, and Philadelphia would have to hope the Embiid-George-Maxey triumvirate was better equipped to advance than last year’s group.
Obviously, this isn’t where anyone expected or hoped for the Sixers to be following an optimistic offseason. Most likely thought Philadelphia would be a notch below Boston, fighting for the second seed in the East. But as this latest five-game stretch has shown us, there’s still plenty of time for this season to get back on track. We’ve still only seen the Big 3 start and finish one game together. If Joel’s knee swelling allows him to play more than four games a month like he did in November, that trio can generate some chemistry and lift the ceiling for this roster beyond what we’ve seen already.
If things continue on this better path, rather than dismantling things like some folks were calling for a few weeks ago, Daryl Morey could use some of that restocked draft capital to make one or two smaller improvements around the trade deadline. I know another Round One dogfight wasn’t on anyone’s wishlist back in September, but despite the putrid start, it’s certainly realistic to think they can get there. I’m then getting ahead of myself, but would anyone consider a Round Two series against Cleveland as impossible? I don’t think so. Regardless of any hypothetical playoff draw, I’d be excited to see this group give it a go. We’ve got a long way to go, but at least the Sixers have taken the first step towards having a ceiling again.