Despite the Philadelphia 76ers touting one of the most jampacked lineups in the entire league from a raw talent standpoint, it seems like nobody is counting on them anymore to look the part of a contender for the championship. After the wildly disappointing campaign they turned in last season, fans and pundits alike appear to have adopted a very cautious approach when gauging the ceiling of this squad.
If we are being honest though, that is probably a fair assessment. The 76ers have a litany of red flags on their roster, starting with the glaring question as to the availability and health of their star players. Joel Embiid and Paul George remain shrouded in mystery, and both face nebulous situations to start the season as can be gleaned from their inactiveness during the preseason.
There is also the added factor of this team having way too many imbalances from within. For example, the 76ers have an abundance of talent in the backcourt, but the frontcourt is a different story. Beyond Embiid and George, the coaching staff will be parading a bunch of misfits who do not make sense as a collective without those core players.
Oh, and this team is also deficient when it comes to key areas such as three-point shooting, rebounding, and overall defense. Those are three of the most important departments in the modern NBA, and the 76ers have done very little to address those mishaps entering the regular season.
The 76ers will be the NBA’s biggest wildcards this season
As such, Philadelphia is not going to be considered a real title contender, but that is perfectly fine. In fact, as Zach Lowe pointed out during this exchange, the 76ers’s best bet is being a team nobody wants to face in the first round of the playoffs.
While that has some air of pessimism to it, the 76ers have to embrace the fact that they are now the underdogs, that they are now going to be the ones who will do the hunting. Over the years, this franchise has become a perennial contender, and this is probably the first time since 2018 that they are not penciled in resolutely as a bona fide team in the title loop.
True enough, no team will want to face a healthy 76ers team, especially in the first round, even with homecourt advantage. After all, the troika of Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey is still plenty talented and supercharged with ample playoff experience, and there are also Jared McCain, VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes to take into account.
Hence, while not ideal narrative-wise, the 76ers entering the season without a lot of eyes on them from an expectations standpoint could stand to benefit them at large — as long as they cultivate and embrace that identity moving forward.