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The Philadelphia Sixers have had an eventful season. Nobody would have predicted the Sixers to be in this position a season ago, but because of the Ben Simmons scenario, the Sixers find themselves with a different squad after the deadline.
It's difficult to argue that the Sixers aren't a title contender now that James Harden has joined the team. There's little doubt that if Harden plays his best basketball, the Sixers have a good chance of winning a title. It'll all depend on if they can win in the playoffs, which they haven't done in recent years, and whether both of their stars, James Harden and Joel Embiid, can stay healthy.
Philadelphia must be delighted with the return they received in exchange for Ben Simmons. Although it's unclear why their front office took so long to get a deal done for him, they ultimately got what they wanted, and although some of it was luck, the Sixers still got a nice deal done, and they must feel quite confident heading into the second half of the season and the playoffs.
Let's look at three reasons why this Sixers squad has a strong chance of winning an NBA title following the NBA trade deadline.
Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why we have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they're going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn't enough to get the job done.
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Sixers Eastern Conference
3. Joel Embiid is playing like the best player on the planet
There's no doubting Joel Embiid is a force to be reckoned with. He's one of those players who can put up 40 points on any given night, and his output will gradually be determined by his ability to remain healthy. Last year, there was a case to be made that if he had stayed healthy, he would have won the league's MVP, and there's a good probability that he will win this year's MVP, as long as he stays healthy.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the world, and he's a big reason why this Bucks team was able to win a championship. If Philadelphia wants to repeat what Milwaukee achieved last season Joel Embiid will have to outplay Giannis, Kevin Durant, and others in the Eastern Conference to succeed. At this point, there's no reason to believe he can't perform at least on par with those players, if not better if he's healthy.
2. With Embiid at his side, James Harden will revert to his old ways
This year, James Harden hasn't looked like himself, and there might be a variety of reasons for that. The most apparent reason might be because the foul rules have changed, but it appears that he still found a way to get some fouls called for him. Another clear reason is that he did not appear to want to play for the Brooklyn Nets.
It's difficult to argue that him leaving his second team in a year is actually appropriate, but given his circumstances, he didn't get what he expected from this Brooklyn Nets squad. When he was moved to the Nets, he anticipated playing every game alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Because of his injuries, Kevin Durant can't really control what happens to him, and James Harden hasn't played with Kyrie Irving in a long time because he refused to receive the vaccine.
James Harden appears to be interested in playing for the Philadelphia Sixers. As a result, he will get the opportunity to play alongside perhaps the best player in the world right now, which should help him return to his former ways, as we witnessed in Houston.
1. Eventually, they'll have to get over that hurdle
There's no doubting that the Philadelphia Sixers have had a string of disappointing seasons in recent years. Whether it was losing three years ago when Kawhi Leonard made that insane shot, or last year when they couldn't get the job done against an Atlanta Hawks team that had no right being on the same court as them.
The fact is that Philadelphia has failed to complete the task. People can point their finger at Ben Simmons all they want, and although he does play a role in why they didn't finish the job, you also have to blame Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris, too. In numerous games against the Atlanta Hawks, Joel Embiid went missing in the fourth quarter, while Tobias Harris just didn't play well at all.
Despite their prior postseason defeats, there's no reason to believe the Sixers can't win a championship with their current lineup. Philadelphia will have to climb over that barrier and bring a title back to the city at some point, and there's no reason to believe it won't be this year.
