Sixers can see real reasons for optimism now, but they're still not close to contention originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers don’t have to haul aside the rubble of endless injuries and meaningless losses to see a bright future now.
However, they sat Sunday night with the humiliation of a second-round playoff sweep capped by a 30-point Game 4 loss to the Knicks. New York fans flooded Xfinity Mobile Arena and had much to celebrate.
“We got beat by a really good team that was better than us tonight,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “Nobody wants to lose the way we did tonight without doubt. No one wants it to end that way, but our team went through a lot of ups and downs and I think we hung in there really well for the season. A lot of good things happened.”
Even after a serious improvement upon last season’s 24-win disaster, the Sixers appear to need more on many fronts to morph into true contenders. More three-point shooting, more defensive rebounding, more availability from their veteran stars. And, to put it bluntly, more good players.
Compared to their Eastern Conference foes, the Sixers’ depth was an enormous problem. Quentin Grimes had one big playoff performance as the team’s sixth man, scoring 18 points in Game 5 of the Sixers’ fantastic first-round series win over the Celtics. Three bench players 23 years old or younger received postseason rotation minutes in Dominick Barlow, Justin Edwards and Adem Bona.
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey traded away Jared McCain in February and added no one. Judging a front office’s work is always complex, but it’s clear the Sixers’ deadline was disappointing to the organization as a whole, players included.
We’ll see if the Sixers opt to change anything at the top. The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported that Morey and Nurse’s jobs are “expected to be evaluated entering the offseason” and that “ownership has not made final decisions on either and is likely to take a few days to assess before making any major calls.”
For better and for worse, it seems likely the Sixers will retain the same core players.
Joel Embiid, 32, dealt with a slew of health woes and was generally great when he suited up. Paul George, 36, served a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy and then played quite well on both ends of the floor for most of the postseason. The Sixers have committed long-term contracts to both.
“I’m as confident as I’ve ever been,” Embiid said. “Obviously, (the knee) was the biggest concern and I’m not thinking about it. As long as we keep doing what we’ve been doing, I won’t have to think about it anymore. I’m looking at next year, obviously being more available, and being more available might mean being a high seed as a team.
“The personal goals don’t matter. I know that if I’m available and I play as much as possible, everything else is going to follow. … I’ve accomplished everything else. I’m in a good mental place. It sucks losing, but I just know that moving forward, I’ll be better for my team.”
Tyrese Maxey became an All-Star starter for the first time. He played through a nagging right pinky finger injury in the playoffs and was limited by the Knicks’ constant blitzes, but the Sixers have a legitimate superstar as their lead guard who topped the NBA in minutes per game.
“I thought he had an amazing year,” George said of Maxey. “He got better. I thought he really added to a foundation that was already great. He’s one of the best scorers. He’s just been consistent for us all year with what he’s dealt with, with what we’ve been through. The next step for him … he’ll have to figure out and adjust to how these playoffs have been. They’re trying to get the ball out of his hands, and him having to learn to play make from there.
“He’s set a precedent that he can average 30 and he’s an elite scorer and shooter. So I’m pretty sure, going into next year, that’s going to be what’s on teams’ boards, trying to stop Tyrese. … I’m sure he’s going to sit with his trainers, his workout people, and they’re going to look at, ‘How can we be better? What can we do better?’ I think that conversation will come up then.”
Maxey shared his exit interview press conference with VJ Edgecombe, who’s already a very valuable two-way player at 20 years old.
Embiid said Edgecombe “has a chance to be extremely special” and “is going to be a monster.”
“I really love my teammates and I really love all the good things they say about me, but I’ve got to keep putting in the work and I’ve got to keep getting better so whatever they say will come to pass,” Edgecombe said. “I’m glad to be here in Philly. … Losing just now, it’s tough, but we’re going to be good for sure.”
Indeed, the Sixers have real reasons for optimism. The team’s leaders in the locker room are right to focus on internal growth and believe better days are ahead.
The gap between the Sixers and the Knicks team that coasted to the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday was not small, though.
“I think the biggest thing is this was a step in the right direction,” Maxey said, “going from last year where we didn’t even make the playoffs to this year where we (got) to the second round. Again, no moral victories, but at some point you’ve got to take away something positive. And we got a lot of experience. … Once you get this taste of playoff experience, you don’t want to go backwards. … And just staying together, man. Keeping the camaraderie high, keeping the vibes high.
“The vibes with this group are really good, especially with the young guys. Really liked each other, really did things together. So we’ve got to keep that vibe going and keep that culture building. If we can keep building that culture, then I think the sky is the limit for this team.”
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