After years of rebuilding through the draft, the Philadelphia 76ers have established themselves as a young and dominant force in the league now. Led by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, Philadelphia exceeded expectations with a 52-30 record, which was the third-best in the Eastern Conference.
As Embiid is listed out for Game 1 against the Miami Heat, he took to Instagram to predict the team's playoff run according to Bleacher Report:
.@JoelEmbiid just went on IG and predicted the Sixers' playoff run 😂 pic.twitter.com/vQja6oDfLE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 14, 2018
Originally the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Embiid is finally putting it all together on and off the court. As the 24-year-old's troll game is at an all-time high, he appeared in 63 games including some back-to-back situations. In just his second season, Embiid averaged 22.9 points and 11.0 rebounds as he became a first-time All-Star.
After winning their last 16 games to close out the regular season, Philadelphia has become a major threat. While their inexperience will likely be challenged, the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers all have issues of their own. As a result, it will be interesting to see if the Sixers can shock basketball fans and represent the Eastern Conference against likely the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets.
However, the focus for Embiid and company must be on the Heat first. In the regular season, the two teams split the four games as there was beef between Embiid and Hassan Whiteside on and off the court. As the one-time All-Star is expected to return at some point, it will be one of this year's better first round matchups.
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