Subscribe
Follow Us
The Philadelphia 76ers recently acquired James Harden, and they are looking to make it pat the second round of the playoffs and finally win a championship together. Harden fixes so much of what this team was missing, and the Sixers have looked like a brand new team since Harden's arrival. With that being said, let's take a look at a few bold predictions for the Sixers for the remainder of this season.
76ers Predictions for the rest of the 2021-22 NBA season
1. James Harden averages a triple double
James Harden has looked like the old Houston Rockets version of himself throughout his first two games in Philadelphia. Harden has been making a consistent effort to get teammates involved, and he has been able to get Embiid numerous easy looks. The Sixers overall have had trouble rebounding the basketball consistently, and Harden has proven himself throughout his career to be one of the best rebounding guards in the NBA.
While his athleticism may be diminishing slightly, he still has excellent size for a guard at 6’5”, and he also has the BBIQ to know how to best position himself to collect rebounds. With Harden’s ability to control the offense, make the right reads and consistently get the ball to the right player in the right position, as well as the quality of finishers around him, expect Harden to put up a stat line of at least 31 points per game, 11 assists per game and 10 boards per game. This leads to the next prediction, that Harden and Embiid will each prove to be an electric scoring duo together.
2. Harden and Joel Embiid each average 30+ PPG
Joel Embiid has been on an incredible heater over the past two months, scoring 30 or more points in 11 games since January 11. This includes 5 games in which Embiid recorded 40+ points, and one monster 50-point game. Although Embiid has looked off the past two games, some rest days should do him some good and the addition of Harden has helped Embiid to get easy baskets, something that he simply has never had consistently in his career up to this point. Embiid should be able to consistently put up close to 30 points per game, and his “down games” will still likely see the big man scoring 25 or more. This will be offset by at least a few 35+ or even 40+ point games.
Meanwhile, Harden is one of the most lethal and efficient scorers in NBA history. From his nearly unmatched ability to get to the charity stripe and convert his free throws at a high rate, to his ability to get to the rim and drain step-back threes, The Beard has a vast scoring arsenal with the potential to drop 30 on any given night, and to go for 50 or more when everything is going his way.
3. Tyrese Maxey averages 25+ PPG
The arrival of James Harden has unlocked Tyrese Maxey’s game. Not only has Harden been coaching Maxey to stay aggressive, and Maxey has started taking (and making) Harden’s patented step-back 3, but Harden taking responsibility for running the offense has significantly simplified Maxey’s role.
Now, Maxey’s job is to focus on scoring primarily and being a secondary/tertiary playmaker, and he is often able to take advantage of his blazing speed to beat defenses that are already out of position and trying to catch up to the elite ball movement and the gravity of Harden and Embiid.
4. Joel Embiid wins the MVP award
To this point, Embiid has proven the likely front runner for the MVP award. Harden’s arrival seems to have only further benefitted Embiid’s game, rather than diminishing it. The man nicknamed “The Process” has never had a true point guard with the ability to get him the ball in easy spots to score as consistently as Harden has done to this point.
Article Continues Below
Joel has also shown an ability to roll to the rim, with the duo proving to be devastating together in the pick-and-roll. Expect Embiid to take his defense to another level due to not needing to expend so much energy creating on offense, while also scoring consistently because of Harden’s ability to find him for easy buckets, such as uncontested layups and dunks.
5. The 76ers earn the #1 seed
Admittedly, this bold prediction is more about the team’s talent level, rather than the desire or even importance of securing the 1-seed. In fact, it might even prove better to be the 2-seed, which likely means avoiding the possibility of playing the Nets in the first round, provided Brooklyn qualifies for the play-in tournament, wins and ends up the 8-seed. The 76ers have the talent, however, to catch up with the Miami Heat and overtake them to earn the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
6. The 76ers defeat the Brooklyn Nets in the playoffs
At some point throughout the playoffs, Philadelphia and Brooklyn will likely find themselves matched up. The new-look Nets will try to prove they won the trade by sacrificing offense for defense, while Philly will look to prove they are more effective with five offensive scoring threats, and that they couldn’t have built a better team around Ben Simmons.
In the playoffs, Simmons will at least need to attempt to score, which he has not yet proven he can do consistently. Expect Embiid, Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle to focus on Kevin Durant defensively, while Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey and James Harden focus their defensive efforts on Kyrie Irving. Whoever is guarding Ben will be free to double either Kyrie or Durant for much of the series.
This should be a close series, but look for the Sixers to win in either six or seven games. Take Philly in five games if Kyrie is still unable to play in Brooklyn by the time the playoffs come around.
7. The Sixers win the NBA championship
Finally, we have the boldest of all these predictions: The Philadelphia 76ers will win the NBA championship this year and enjoy a beer-soaked parade down Broad Street. This team has the top-end talent to go toe-to-toe with anybody, as well as the depth of shooters and other key specialists to not fall apart in bench minutes.
An effective rotation that sees one of at least Harden, Maxey or Embiid on the court at all times will be able to hold things steady and keep the game close until the three of them take the court together midway through the fourth quarter to put the other team away. This top-end talent compliments each other perfectly, and if Harris can truly buy into and excel at his role as a fourth option, spot-up shooter and defender, the Sixers will be nearly unstoppable. The NBA championship trophy will finally come home to the city of Philadelphia this year.
