The frustratingly inconsistent 76ers can become fearsome contenders in the sanitised NBA bubble

IT'S been a deeply underwhelming season so far for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Expectations had been high, the strength and depth of their roster reflected in their status as the pre-season second-favourites to emerge from the Eastern Conference. Yet, 67 games into what will now be a truncated campaign, their 40-27 record is good enough only for sixth place in the East.

But, for better or worse, the 76ers have at least entered the NBA’s post-pandemic “bubble” as the league’s most interesting team, a distinction they hold for a number of reasons. Firstly, in an attempt to foster a degree of chemistry within his side, coach Brett Brown has shuffled his deck.

Point guard Ben Simmons has been redeployed as a power forward, with the second-year guard Shake Milton assuming the Australian’s former role in the backcourt. And Al Horford, a big-money free-agent signing from the Boston Celtics last year, has been dropped to the bench, having failed to muster the impact anticipated of him upon his arrival in Philadelphia.

This switch-up, in theory, allows Simmons – one of the most naturally gifted players in the league with future-MVP potential – to focus more on his work down in the paint, where he is spectacular, athletic and creative when attacking the basket. While the advantage of having Milton at point guard lies in the threat the 23-year-old poses with his outside shooting; he has shot an impressive 45 per cent from beyond the arc in 2019-20, whereas Simmons’ reluctance to pull the trigger from range has always been his biggest weakness.

It’s a weakness he appears to be addressing, though. Before the NBA’s return in the final days of last month, footage circulated of Simmons refining his corner three, demonstrating a smooth, easy action. Still, he is yet to test out his new skills in competitive action, attempting zero threes in Philadelphia’s first two games inside the bubble..

And centre Joel Embiid will be one of the most fascinating players to watch inside the clinical environment of the bubble.

The 7ft Cameroonian is the best and most intimidating centre in the league when motivated and on form. But Embiid – who averages an admittedly solid, if unspectacular, 23.9 points per game this season – remains frustratingly inconsistent. His up-and-down performances drew criticism from NBA legends Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal back in December

“He’s the toughest player in the league to match up with, but we don’t talk about him the way we talk about Luka [Doncic], Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Anthony Davis, James [Harden] — we don’t ever say that about him,” said 1993 MVP Barkley, a former 76er. “It’s frustrating for me, because I picked the Sixers to get to the Finals. They ain’t got no chance.”

"We’re telling you, ‘You can be great. You ain’t playing hard enough.’ Twenty-two ain’t enough to get you to the next level,” added three-time Finals MVP O’Neal. “Do you want to be great or do you want to be good? If you want to be good, keep doing 22 points. You want to be great, give me 28, give me 30. You want to be great, watch Giannis — he wants to be great.”

In February, Philadelphia’s own fans even turned on Embiid, booing the big man ahead of a game against the LA Clippers at the Wells Fargo Center after he hinted at a move away from the club.  

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With no crowd to get on his back, though, Embiid has been at his imperious best since the NBA’s resumption. Despite the 76ers’ 121-127 defeat, he scored 41 points and collected 21 rebounds against the Indiana Pacers in the first game back, and he followed that up with a team-high 27 points in the subsequent win over the San Antonio Spurs.

It will be interesting, too, to see how performing in what are essentially neutral venues at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, affects Philadelphia’s topsy-turvy form.

Prior to the pandemic, the 76ers 29-2 home record was the best in the NBA. But their abysmal away form, with just 10 wins from 34 road games, held them back.

Whatever advantages they might be able to glean from the unique environment the NBA now finds itself in, the 76ers are yet to discover a cure for their ills, going 1-1 since the restart. Despite the presence of elite defenders in Simmons, Embiid, Matisse Thybulle and Horford, they have been hampered so far by poor defending.

“We’ve got to do a better job,” said Embiid after Monday’s 132-130 win over the Spurs. “We’ve just got to take the challenge and it’s just not in the fourth quarters, it’s the whole game. The last two games, we haven’t been able to keep our man in front of us. So we’ve got to do a better job and I’ve got to do a better job of correcting mistakes.”

It appears, after the restart in Orlando, the 76ers remain as frustratingly inconsistent as ever. But with so much talent their disposal, they will become fearsome contenders the instant things elusively click into place. And the sanitised environment of the bubble might give them a better-than-ever chance of striking upon the right formula.