Brian Windhorst has declared this 76ers team is weaker than people think. A prediction that may come back to haunt him.
According to a popular NBA analyst, the Philadelphia 76ers won’t be top five in their conference. No, excuse me, they won’t even be in the top six. So, basically, they’ll be a play-in team at best this year.
This was said by none other than Brian Windhorst, a person who used to covet LeBron James throughout most of his career. Now, for some reason, doubting that James could help a 76ers team that was a few games away from being in the top 5. So what may be happening here is that the focus is more on what the other teams have done before and not what the 76ers have done now.
Windhorst’s biggest argument is strictly their health. It’s such an overblown concept when it comes to this team. This is going to be a constant argument throughout the season, and it’s as if we’re ignoring some very crucial differences between this season and last season. One of the biggest differences here is the bench. There are major upgrades all across the board here.
From the young guy, Labaron Philon, to some of the savvy veterans like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, these guys are going to contribute more than last season's guys. Quentin Grimes and Cameron Payne were great in their own right, but there’s more athleticism and skill with this new unit.
Don’t forget about Anfernee Simons and Dean Wade. This group can allow head coach Nick Nurse to be the coach that won a Coach of the Year award. So just off that fact alone, it means this team won’t have the same struggles.
Now, let’s look at this argument about this injury issue. Truthfully, the only one who has a big injury problem is Joel Embiid. You can make a case for LeBron James due to age, but he still can play at least 60 games in a season. Embiid definitely looks to be in the best shape of his career, and he looks ready to prove it. Besides, even if he does have to deal with an injury or two, this team is more than capable of going on without him. On top of that, when Embiid went down, Tyrese Maxey stepped up and made things happen. This team still made the playoffs despite Embiid missing half the season.
Now there’s more help with Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and VJ Edgecombe, who will be looking to take a huge step this season. So to sit here with a straight face and say this team may not be a top six team in the East is absolutely disrespectful.
This team could end up winning 60 or more games, and that should be enough to make the top five easily. Just wait and see how this team ruins many predictions that downplay the 76ers in the regular season.
