Everyone is expecting the 76ers to win now, and it may be unrealistic. But even in defeat, they could take some good things away from the season.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that have no room for error. This team has to do better than a second round exit. If they do, it’s going to be pure chaos.
If this turns out to be a failure, many would see this as a major problem. But it may not be a bad thing if they don’t win it on the first try. It’s a few bright spots when you think of what it could mean for the team. One big thing that could happen is that LeBron James opts into his player option and makes a return for the next season. If that happens, then you can be enthusiastic about the fact that he will have another year to help VJ Edgecombe and a few of the other young core guys on the roster.
Another thing to make of the loss is that most LeBron James-led teams, if they fail the first time, usually succeed the second time around. Look no further than the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers as examples. In Miami, they made it to the Finals in 2011 and lost to the Dallas Mavericks. They returned the following year and won after facing the San Antonio Spurs. In 2019, when James joined the Lakers, he was injured and missed out on the playoffs completely. Then, in 2020 he won the NBA Finals in the bubble and proved he could lead a team to a championship.
So there should certainly be a glimmer of hope for the city of Philadelphia if they could just hang on and be a bit more patient. Now, the third and quite possibly the biggest benefit of this is that it would leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, and the loss would have them come back better than they were a season ago. It would also mean that this team would have another year together, and now they know each other better. It gives them the opportunity to fix what didn’t work.
One final point to make in all this is they could address their faults. By faults, it means addressing the lack of depth in certain areas, like the center position. Even if they were to address the issue midseason, it would be a temporary fix until they reached the offseason.
This team will be formidable this season, but if for some reason they can't get it done, it will be a real chance to go for it one more time.
