Don't worry guys and gals, I'm here. The Big Narrative aka Mr. Optimistic to help you cope with the, seemingly, worst organization in all of sports, at least according to Charles Barkley, Sixers fans, and really the entire basketball world.
And yes, I'm not going to lie, the Sixers are playing horrendously right now and I'm slightly worried, but no where near as worried as everyone else. Look, it's a long season. Teams, even good ones, go through ups and downs. Of course, when a good team goes on a losing streak, without fail you'll start hearing all of the qualitative rhetoric like, "the team is soft, or they don't try hard, the culture is bad, the coach needs to go, Simmons and Embiid hate each other," (literally this story pops up every time they go on a losing streak) etc. It's like clockwork.
But call me crazy, I think the Sixers will get this thing turned around and here are five reasons why
1. Joel Embiid will be better
Joel Embiid is not healthy. It's blatantly obvious when you watch the games that his hand is still affecting him. Since returning to play with a wrapped up hand, Embiid is 33-78 from the field (42.3%) and 29-42 from the line (69.0%), both well below his career averages of 47.8 FG% and 79.3 FT%, respectively.
Joel Embiid's hand looked pretty swollen in the locker room, but reiterated that he doesn't want to use that as an excuse for missing shots tonight. Says where his hand affects him the most is actually rebounding.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) February 7, 2020I expect Embiid to play much better post all-star break when he gets the thing removed from his hand.
2. Josh Richardson is coming back from injury
It's not an excuse, it's a fact—the Sixers haven't really been fully healthy all season long. And I know the counterpoint is, "Either has Miami or Boston or Toronto." True. But the Sixers were (before they added depth at the deadline and more on this later), the most top-heavy team in the NBA. So when you combine injuries with a lack of depth, plus poor play from your bench players like Mike Scott and James Ennis (who has been cut), you get losses. Philly was not able to cope with the injuries like those other teams, but that doesn't necessarily make them worse. The Sixers are a team built for the postseason and they weren't ready to deal with long-term regular season injuries.
Richardson, who was essentially serving as the team's backup and crunch time point guard before suffering a hamstring injury, went through a workout on Thursday and is a close to returning.
When their full starting five plus Matisse Thybulle plays at least 15 minutes in a game this season, the Sixers are 8-0 this season. I'm just saying.
Update: Richardson is listed as questionable for tonight's game.
3. Their schedule gets much easier
Over their final 30 games, the Sixers have the 4th easiest schedule in the NBA, per tankathon.com. 17 of those 30 games are at home, where the Sixers are 22-2.
4. Bench help is coming
Adding Glenn Robinson and Alec Burks is kind of a big deal for this team. They're not game-changing players, but both players have length and can shoot, something Philly needed badly.
Robinson, 6-foot-6, 222 pounds, is averaging 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 31.6 minutes this season. He is shooting 40-percent from three on 3.5 attempts, and is a career 37-percent shooter from deep.
Burks, 6-foot-6, 241 pounds, is averaging 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 29 minutes this season. He is shooting 37-percent from three on 4.7 attempts per game and is a career 37-percent three-point shooter, as well.
5. No team in the East in unbeatable
No matter how bad it looks, the Sixers will still be a tough out in the playoffs. They're 3-1 this season vs. the Celtics and 1-1 vs. the Bucks. They're 22-2 at home.
No team matches up better with the Bucks than the Sixers, who may be the only team in the East with enough bodies to throw at Giannis to slow him down in a seven game series. And while Milwaukee looks amazing in the regular season, we've seen this story before. The Bucks have yet to make that leap. Sure, Miami got better and Toronto is solid, but the Sixers will be in the mix when the playoffs start, regardless of what anyone says.
