Philadelphia 76ers Last Season Performance

The Philadelphia 76ers concluded another successful season in 2022-23. However, they fell short of the NBA Finals once again. Philadelphia finished the regular season with a 54-28 record to secure the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Philadelphia swept Brooklyn in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but wasn’t able to get past the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals, falling in seven games after a 112-88 loss in Game 7.

The 2022-23 season also marked the first time Joel Embiid was awarded NBA MVP honors after being in the running for the award multiple times prior. He earned the award after leading the NBA by averaging 33.1 points on 54.8% shooting.

Philadelphia 76ers Key Additions

The Sixers made a couple of moves in the offseason, signing both guard Patrick Beverley and center Mo Bamba.

Beverley provides some solid depth at the point guard position as well as some insurance in case Philadelphia is unable to reconcile with James Harden. A solid defender as well, Beverly is also known for being able to provoke opponents. He averaged 5.8 points on 39.5% shooting and 3.5 assists last season.

Bamba, meanwhile, figures to be a solid backup to Embiid with his 7-foot size. He averaged 6.6 points and 4.6 rebounds on 48.5% shooting last season. He should compete for the five position behind Embiid with Paul Reed, who was re-signed in the offseason.

Philadelphia also re-signed Montrezl Harrell to a one-year deal after he averaged 5.6 points on 59.8% shooting and 2.8 rebounds.

Philadelphia 76ers Key Subtractions

Philadelphia let a number of players go in free agency, with Shake Milton, Georges Niang and Jalen McDaniels the three most notable.

Milton finished last season averaging 8.4 points on 47.9% shooting and 3.2 assists a game, while Niang was one of the Sixers’ strongest shooters. He averaged 8.2 points on 40.1% shooting from beyond the arc, also adding 2.4 rebounds a game.

McDaniels was also strong from three, shooting at a 40% clip while averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds a game.

Philadelphia 76ers Head Coaching Analysis

Despite reaching the playoffs for the sixth season in a row and the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight season, Philadelphia fired head coach Doc Rivers.

The 76ers then hired head coach Nick Nurse, who was most recently head coach of the Toronto Raptors. Nurse guided the Raptors for five seasons, finishing with a 227-163 record. He led Toronto to an NBA championship win in his first season as head coach in 2018-19 and was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2020 after leading the Raptors to the second-best record in the league and No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Philadelphia 76ers Strength

One of the Sixers’ biggest strengths and reasons for so many of their wins last season was the duo of Embiid and Harden.

Embiid led the league in points at 33.1 a game while Harden led the NBA in assists with 10.7, also adding 21 points a game. Together, the two helped Philadelphia average 115.2 points a game.

However, with the possibility that Harden will be somewhere else by the start of the 2023-24 season, Embiid will need to find a new pick-and-roll partner to continue being a scoring machine.

Enter Tyrese Maxey, who has continued to improve and has grown into a rising star on the roster. His 20.3 points a game last season was third on the team. He’s also one of the strongest 3-point shooters, hitting from beyond the arc at a 43.4% clip, and should Harden move on, a tandem of Embiid and Maxey would still prove to be a strong combination.

Philadelphia 76ers Weakness

Harden was one of Philly’s best strength’s last season, but the drama he has brought to the team is also one of its greatest weaknesses.

Though Harden exercised his player option with the 76ers, he also requested a trade, something NBA fans are all too familiar with from him by now. It’s the third time in 2½ years he’s done so.

Harden’s trade requests don’t come quietly either as he has tried to force his way out, showing up late to training camp in the past. This time, he called out Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey.

All the drama and uncertainty on whether Harden will be with the team come the start of the 2023-24 season pulls focus away from the team’s preparation, especially under a new coach. The quicker Philadelphia gets the situation figured out, the quicker the team can move on.

Philadelphia 76ers Prediction for the 2023-24 Season

The playoffs are a comfortable place by now for the Sixers, who have made the postseason for the past six seasons. With Embiid leading the team, it has never been the question of whether the Sixers will reach the postseason; rather, how far they’ll go?

Philly has reached the Eastern Conference semifinals the past three seasons, but has never been able to get over the hump, and it seems like a stretch this year as well. NBA odds give the Sixers the fourth-best odds to win the Eastern Conference this season with +650 odds.

It remains to be seen whether Harden will be on the team come the start of the season. If he is, he’ll likely be a distraction but his departure should make wins a little tougher to come by. Philadelphia is also going through change with a new head coach, and though Nurse is a proven winner, that still takes some adjusting. NBA picks have the Sixers winning under 49.5 games this season, and though a return to the postseason is likely, a drop in the win total is also probable.

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