After heartbreaking finishes the last 2 seasons, the Philadelphia 76er’s came back stronger than all expectations. A retooled line up, major staff changes, and some incredible development from already great players have left the 76er’s on top of a crazy, unstable, but very exciting Eastern conference. Playoffs start with the No.1 seed Sixers face the No. 8 seed Wizards today, so we will see if the 76ers can win it all. 

Some say that all the Sixers needed was the right leader. After the issues Doc Rivers had in LA, (he didnt make the WCF once with 4 potential hall of famers), he joined the 76ers after the firing of Bret Brown. Doc Rivers’ coaching style is described by him as using the “Ubuntu” philosophy. A phrase that roughly translates to “I am because we are”. He is also known for running a system that doesnt allow for input from players. It seems to work; he has lead the Sixers to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern conference; this is for just the third time in 44 seasons.

Doc Rivers has had some incredible regular season performances but has underperformed in the playoffs. The only championship he has from coaching is with his 2008 Celtics, which were the 2000’s equivalent of the KD Warriors. If he can adapt his coaching to the playoffs, especially in this season’s lack of practice time due to Covid, I can see the 76ers winning the NBA Championship this year. 

Doc can’t do it by himself, he needs some more talent in key positions if the Sixers have any hope to take it all and win the ship.

The 76ers made some big offseason moves. Namely, trading for Seth Curry and signing Dwight Howard in free agency. Seth Curry is continuing his streak of being the player with the highest 3-point percentage in the league with .4395. He also has stepped up averaging 2 more points and 1 more assist than usual, 12.7 and 2.8 respectively. Dwight Howard also was a good addition to the team. While not playing at his prime level anymore, he’s still a guy who can get you a double double when you need it.

 A big reason for the success the Sixers are seeing on the court are because of two guys, Ben Simmons and Joel EMVPIID Embiid. Ben Simmons is a power forward who plays point guard. Averaging 16, 7, and 8 he’s a great all around player. The scariest thing about him though is his defense. Many people have been comparing him to Gary Payton, but I think a more accurate comparison is Lebron James. Lebron is an underrated defender and can guard 1-5 by just relying on his athletic prowess. Another comparison could be Draymond Green as the 76er’s defense is running through an undersized centerpiece akin to the Warriors’ Death Lineup.

The most important factor to the 76er’s success has been Joel Embiid living up to his hype. The third pick in the 2014 draft voiced his dissatifaction ove last year’s season saying “I’m not going to lie, during this season I wasn’t there. I just wasn’t comfortable. I was mad at the whole world, and was just like ‘eh, whatever.’ [It was like] I’m just coming to work, and I’m going to do my best, but I wasn’t playing up to my standards.” After putting that behind him he decided to blow up. Raising his PPG to 29.8. Shooting 40% from 3, 56% from the field and 85% from the free throw line on only 1 more minute played per game. He is avergaing less turnovers a game also. He is leading the MVP race right now. Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook will continue their rivalry in the first round of the playoffs. It doesn’t look good for the Wizards, The 76ers have won all three meetings between the teams in the regular season.

The 76er’s have exceeded all expectations. In a top loaded Eastern conference, they made it to No. 1 seed. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the playoffs with Doc Rivers coaching this talented team. Game 1 of the first round is at 1pm today, Sunday May 23rd. The Sixers host heir first playoff game in over two years over No. 8 seed Washington Wizards. Watch the livestream on NBCSportsPhiadelphia.com. Stay up to date on all the teams with the NBA 2021 Bracket.

UPDATE: THe Sixers beat the Wizards in the first round of playoffs, 4 games to 1. Sixers will most likely take on Atlanta next week.