Lately, the Sixers have been improving their odds of becoming a legit title contender ahead of next season with the additions of depth and the signing of James Harden to a team-friendly deal.
With Harden getting less money in his new contract, the Sixers created more space to add three important pieces like PJ Tucker, Danuel House Jr. and Trevelin Queen via the free agency. Moreover, they added De’Antony Melton via a trade during the draft day.
With those moves, the Sixers addressed the depth issue, which was one of the biggest ones for the franchise, especially last season. With Tyrese Maxey becoming a full-time starter the Sixers were lacking enough firepower in their second unit.
With Seth Curry and Andre Drummond leaving for Brooklyn in the Ben Simmons trade, the Sixers’ bench became even thinner in terms of production. During the playoffs, the starting lineup of Maxey, Harden, Embiid, Harris and Green outscored opponents by 13 points.
At the same time, several variations that included DeAndre Jordan, Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle struggled to keep the team afloat even with the likes of Harden or Harris on the floor as the main instigators.
Two-way bench
With the new additions, the Sixers are putting two-way elements in the game. Melton has excelled as a secondary guard in Memphis shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc on a healthy 5.1 attempts per contest, while starring a 50 percent on EFG%.
Danuel House has also been a great addition to the Sixers’ bench. With his length and his shooting, he will help the Sixers in both ends of the floor. House put up 6.8 points through 42 games in Utah this past season shooting 41 percent from deep.
House has also experienced playing with James Harden for several years in Houston and he will be a valuable option coming off the bench next season. House has a career-average of 36.6 percent from beyond the arc in 4.2 attempts per game.
“I think we have a much deeper team,” Harden told Chris Haynes Yahoo Sports. “That’s something we wanted to address. If you look at our team now, we’re positioned to go a lot further. I like how we stack up with the rest of the top teams.”
James Harden returning to prominence
James Harden had a tough two-year stint with the Houston and the Brooklyn as his campaign and his efficiency was hurt by crippling hamstring injuries. Harden played injured during the Nets’ 2021 playoff campaign.
And from this point, he never returned to be at 100 percent during the past season. He appeared in just 21 games with the Sixers, but he was far away from the efficient shot creator he was during his time with the Rockets.
The Sixers will need Harden to come back in perfect shape and be healthy. He can still dominate the game as facilitator but he can only elevate the 76ers to a championship team if he can average more than 23 or 24 points per contest on good shooting splits next season.
Last season, his statistics didn’t equate to his standard offensive explosions, yet the 32-year-old veteran averaged 21.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 10.5 assists with the Sixers. Harden won’t need to be averaging 40 with Embiid in the mix.
In 65 games last season in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Harden shot 41.0 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range lower than his career averages of 44.2 percent FG% and 36.6 percent 3PT%.
“I’ve had the luxury of not having to deal with any serious injuries—with surgeries or whatnot—my entire career. But these last two years, I’ve been dealing with some hamstring issues, which are nothing to play with.”
“So I’m taking this summer as an opportunity to do something for me, to make sure that I get back to the elite level that I know I can be at and that I will be at. So, that’s priority No. 1,” the guard told Adrienne Faurote of Haute Time
Epilogue
On paper, the Sixers seem equipped to make a deep playoff run next year. However, they will have to get past teams like the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks to make the dream of a championship a reality.
It’s all depend on the Sixers’ star core of James Harden and Joel Embiid to lead the team by avoiding injuries and being 100 percent healthy when things matter the most, in the playoffs.
If they achieve that, then the Sixers have the chance to win it all next season.
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