One of the best things about the Eagles’ and Phillies’ playoff runs was not having to pay attention to the 76ers. Sometimes, the best therapy is a little distance. Not that we’re having problems. It’s just that, after six years together, things can start to feel a little stale. Don’t get me wrong. We still love each other. But a lot of times when we’re together, I close my eyes and pretend they are the Milwaukee Bucks.
Sorry, that got away from me. I was just trying to understand why people seem to be so down on this Sixers team. The Sixers’ resumé at the All-Star break is as strong as it has ever been. They’re currently playing at a 54-win pace, which would be their highest win total of the Joel Embiid era. Their winning percentage is virtually identical to 2020-21, when they were the top seed in the Eastern Conference and came within a meltdown against the Atlanta Hawks of making it to the conference finals. They are 13-3 in their last 16 games. Seven of those wins against teams who are at least four games over .500. According to Basketball-Reference.com’s projections, the only teams with better odds of winning this year’s NBA Finals are the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, and Memphis Grizzlies.
At the same time, a lot of people seem underwhelmed by these Sixers. It’s not just a local phenomenon, either. Look at Embiid. A year ago, he entered the All-Star break as the favorite to win MVP. Two years ago, he was right there, too. This year, he is scoring 2.5 more points per game than where he finished in 2021-22. He is on pace to finish the season with career highs in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, effective field goal percentage, and minutes per game. Yet in ESPN’s latest MVP straw poll, Embiid placed a distant third, garnering just one more first-place vote than Jayson Tatum and finishing closer to fifth-place Luka Dončić than first-place Nikola Jokić. For the first time in five years, he was not voted in as an All-Star Game starter.
