Just when it looked like to the reign of Philly dominance had been eclipsed, the Sixers are back better than ever and showing the whole sports world that they can make a deep playoff run. Of course most Philly fans expected the Sixers to make it to the playoffs, but for them to cap off the season with a 16 game win streak while also talking 3rd place in the East, it is amazing. With Fultz back and playing some hard minutes it would appear that Philly might just be the team to beat in the 2018 playoffs.
A couple weeks ago it appeared that the Sixers, who had already clenched a playoff spot, were going to be in a tough predicament with the lose of Embiid. While the injury Embiid suffered is pretty minuscule, it took some wind out of our flags. He is such a dominate force while on the court, and also brings a passionate spirit that livens up the fans. With him gone, their needed to be a new leader and that was Ben Simmons.
Simmons who is only 21 years old, has been a monster on the court this year and will most likely end up winning the Rookie of the Year award. While he is still developing his jump, he has still managed to score about 16 points a game, while also dishing out 8 assists and hauling in 8 rebounds. Despite his age, he has become the leader of the team and has been a big reason why the team has done so well since the All Star break. Another breakout player started to play only a few weeks ago and last night he became the youngest player ever to record a triple double. Markelle Fultz was out with a shoulder injury for most of the season, but he looks ready to go with playoffs just around the corner.
Being that we are the 3rd seed, we will now face the Miami Heat at home instead of playing away at the Pacers arena as expected. The sixers have one of the best home court records and that is largely due to the amount of fans that show up every night. They are always cheering on the team, even when we only won 10 games just two years ago. So with our first and maybe even our second round of the playoffs coming through Philly, it looks like we have a shot to win the Eastern Conference. An accomplishment that has not happened since 2001.
While the team is still young and maturing, they can still deal a great amount of damage to experienced teams such as the Celtics and Cavaliers. With a young and explosive roster paired with a crazy fan base, it will be tough to beat us in a 7 game sixers. Even though this years team might not win it all, they have surpassed all expectations. Radio pundits and talk show hosts didn’t have us winning 40 games, let alone 52. So while this year might not end with a championship, it was still very impressive to watch this team learn and grow over the course of this year. The best part is, they are only going to get better.