Philadelphia 76ers: Former players that would have helped this team, Part 1

Marco Belinelli

Heading into the final month of the 2017-18 season, Marco Belinelli helped the Sixers go from dull to dangerous in just about every department. In mid-February, the team’s bench ranked 29th in 3-point percentage, but by the beginning of April, they shot 39.6 percent from deep – something they haven’t done for an entire season in franchise history.

The late addition of Belinelli set off a chain of unlikely events for the Sixers. Over a two-month period, they won 25 out of 30 games (16 straight to end the regular season), went from the sixth seed to the third seed, and were undefeated without Embiid when he sustained an orbital bone fracture around his eye.

Belinelli coming off the bench in relief of J.J. Redick seemed like a perfect world, and it got even sweeter in the first-round against the Miami Heat. He was a team-high plus-28 in the team’s Game 1 blowout victory, and averaged 16.6 points per game for the series.

When the Sixers signed Ryan Broekhoff a few weeks ago, they instantly bolstered the bench, but will he end up being just another late-year signing that keeps a seat warm? Or, is he a Belinelli-caliber player who can turn things around with such a truncated acclimation period? The hope is the latter, but that’s a lot to ask from a guy who has played only 59 games in his career.