Philadelphia 76ers: Criteria for a good 2019-20 season

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Perpetually a team with fluid expectations, the Philadelphia 76ers head into 2019-20 with a very defined goal.

For several seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers had minimal expectations. Their goal was to lose on purpose in order to acquire a high draft pick.

Then as assets became actual players, the standard began to rise. Together, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons helped the team nearly double its win total from 2016-17 to 2017-18, amassing 52 dubs in a breakout campaign.

That’s where the fun stopped though. The Boston Celtics acted as a brick wall for Philly, knocking them out of the 2018 second round in just five games. As a result, the Sixers went into 2018-19 with a stronger goal, but still no concrete level to attain.

The quadruple-doink shot changed that. As the 76ers added Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris midseason, it became clear that they were going for it with their existing core.

They forced the Toronto Raptors to seven games, more than any other opponent in the eventual champs’ path was able to do.

Once Kawhi Leonard hit that dreaded shot, the goal for 2019-20 became clear. The Sixers were that close. The hope was to re-sign everyone and run it back, but Butler and J.J. Redick had other ideas.

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As a result, the front office had to pivot and add talent with limited flexibility. They did so well though, turning Butler’s departure into Josh Richardson, and using the remaining cap space on Al Horford.

Harris was retained using Bird Rights, Mike Scott and James Ennis took discounts to stay, and suddenly the Sixers were deeper than last season’s iteration.

With two guaranteed years left on Richardson’s deal (player option for $11.6 million in 2021, which he’d be foolish to accept) and Horford not getting any younger, it’s clear that the Sixers are really going for it in 2019-20.

That’s a no-brainer, really, but it’s different than last season. The front office targeted players on expiring deals last season in order to maximize flexibility heading into the summer of 2019.

There was an impetus to get elite talent to complement Embiid and Simmons, but not in a way that made Elton Brand and Co. unable to adjust if things didn’t go well.

It’s clear that the Harris trade made in February was a hedge against Butler’s potential departure, which had been foreshadowed early in Butler’s tenure as a Sixer.

The franchise is probably better off not locking themselves into five years of Butler at age 33 and counting, although reports are that they tried their damnedest to make it work.

Now that the Sixers have become the Thiccsers, with no starter (and only three backups) standing below 6’6″, it’s clear how they’re going to play. Starting Horford and Embiid together is unique, but among many things, Horford will mitigate the non-Embiid minutes against being a dumpster fire.

In addition, he will give the Sixers another tool to try and defend Giannis Antentokoumnpo, the reigning Most Valuable Player and best player in the East.

The 76ers are physical, defensively stout and designed to attack mismatches offensively.

To make the upcoming season a success, they will have to prove that the loss of Redick won’t compromise spacing too harshly, that the Horford-Embiid pairing can work when opponents go small and that Simmons can still be useful in the half court without a proven jumper.

If they can, they should win the East.