Go big or go home: 76ers pursue title dreams by bucking small-ball trend

Best-case scenario

The Philadelphia 76ers get through the early-season transition phase with their new personnel and things come together … in a big way.

Behind their three All-Stars in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, the 76ers surge to the top of the Eastern Conference by mid-December and stay there, finishing with the top seed in the East after winning 64 games and securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

With Wells Fargo Center rocking, the 76ers cruise through the first two rounds of the playoffs before a clash of the titans with the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The first playoff meeting between The Process and The Greek Freak doesn’t disappoint, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks fall to the 76ers in a seven-game series before Philadelphia goes on to capture its first title in 37 years.

Embiid plays well enough — and often enough — to cop his first MVP award and adds Defensive Player of the Year to it in an awards-night double not seen since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993-94 and just the third player ever to pull off the trick (Michael Jordan was the first in 1987-88).

Worst-case scenario

Despite denial after denial, the Philadelphia 76ers wind up looking like the dog sitting in the burning coffee shop as Embiid goes down early with his balky left knee and is available only in fits and starts the rest of the way.

This forces the 76ers to shift Al Horford to the middle, Harris to the 4 and a revolving door of Mike Scott, James Ennis, Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle at the 3 spot.

Simmons still hasn’t quite gotten the extend-his-range thing down yet and is still a problem to have on the floor in crunch time because of his poor foul shooting.

The 76ers still have enough talent in the East to finish in the top four or five in the conference, but their season ends with a disappointing first-round loss as a summer of decisions lies ahead for the franchise.