The Philadelphia 76ers burst onto the scene last year, amassing a 52-win regular season and a first-round victory over the Miami Heat. This came after being labeled a borderline playoff team by many pundits. After the Heat series, analysts rushed to anoint the Process as the heirs to the King’s East, led by the dynamic duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Simmons looked like a young Magic, and Embiid seemed out of a dream.
Then, they hit a buzzsaw in the second round, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics ran circles around the 76ers, even without their two best players: Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. The playoffs exposed why the Process shouldn’t be finished. No team since the ‘06 Heat has won a championship without at least one of their top two players shooting greater than 31% from beyond the three-point line. Other than Tony Parker and Rajon Rondo, the last starting point guard to win a championship shooting less than 31% from beyond the arc was Avery Johnson in 1999.
Those stats are why having Simmons and Embiid as the two primary scorers should worry a Sixers fan. Not to mention that both players have egregious flaws at the moment: Simmons’s shooting and Embiid’s stamina. By Game 5 in Boston, Embiid looked like Batman fighting Bane for the first time in The Dark Knight Rises, and Simmons had the same chance of taking a three as the Green Party has of putting a candidate in the White House in 2020.
After being sent home early by the Celtics, the Sixers seemed poised for a big offseason. Fans speculated that the team could sign LeBron, trade for Kawhi, or maybe even do both. Instead, their GM was found chirping at players via five different burner accounts, and they missed out on both marquee small forwards. Due to Colangelo’s removal, Brett Brown filled in for the rest of free agency and the draft despite having no front office experience. The Sixers drafted Mikal Bridges 10th, the perfect shooting guard compliment alongside Simmons, a hometown kid, and a hard-worker.
Everything appeared to be lining up for the Sixers. Then, Bridges was flipped for Zhaire Smith, another raw athlete with upside and a 2020 Miami first-round pick. Although Smith boasts a 45% college 3P%, that was on a mere 1.08 attempts per game (18-40). For reference, Bridges took six a game at Villanova. The move was defended as a clearing of cap space for James or the acquisition of assets for a Leonard trade, but if so, they failed to gain more than the slightest traction on either pursuit.
On top of this, Nemanja Bjelica backed out of a contract with Philly to pursue more cash in Sacramento. These moves meant that the Sixers were treading water while the other Eastern contenders made various levels of improvements to their playoff rosters.
The Celtics brought Irving and Hayward back with hopes of improved health. The Raptors swapped DeRozan for Leonard. Milwaukee upgraded from the incompetence of Joe Prunty to the eloquence of Mike Budenholzer. Even the Pacers subtly added Tyreke Evans and Doug McDermott.
These moves are countered by a universal refrain from the Sixers faithful: well, player development. Simmons, Embiid, and Fultz all will make strides. What, you think Giannis, Kyrie, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Khris Middleton, Kawhi Leonard, and Victor Oladipo are just twiddling their thumbs in the offseason?
There’s no doubt that the Sixers will be better than last year. They have a good and dedicated young core. Only problem? That’s not exclusive. The team that beat them in five has the same situation. So does Milwaukee to a lesser extent with Giannis and Middleton. Even if Fultz does develop, his shot will likely not be up to scratch for at least another year. It’s difficult to play three sub-35% shooters at the same time in the modern NBA when you put him on the same court as Joel and Ben.
The Process can’t be over. The 76ers will need to add another All-Star level piece in order to compete with Boston or Toronto nevermind the best of the West. Philly believes they are neck and neck with the Celtics, but in reality, they’re just as disillusioned as Bugs Bunny when he thought basketball would be an easy way to defeat the Moron Mountainites.
If the Sixers don’t want to become a footnote in the story of another potential Celtics dynasty, they have to make another move beyond shouting player development at anyone who doubts their team.