10 Bold Predictions for Philadelphia 76ers During 2014-15 Season
The Philadelphia 76ers are entering the second phase of their tanking strategy, and the 2014-15 season should be a good indication as to where the team is in regard to the future.
Ending last year with a 19-63 record wasn't surprising. General manager Sam Hinkie had constructed a team that was far less talented than the majority of the rest of the NBA.
Combine that with a promising yet first-year head coach in Brett Brown, and Philadelphia was supposed to go through a rough year.
Hinkie's approach was about as extreme as the league had ever seen. He's done nothing but face it head on, though, and is continuing to preach patience as the rebuilding process continues.
Let's take a look at 10 bold predictions for the upcoming season as we wait on Hinkie's plan to finally kick in.
Nerlens Noel Will Win Rookie of the Year
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One of my first bold predictions for the Sixers during the 2013-14 season was that Michael Carter-Williams would win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award.
There's no reason to go away from a winning strategy, so we'll start this off by predicting that Nerlens Noel will take home the same honor.
Carter-Williams' biggest advantage over the rest of the league's rookies was how there was no question about whether or not he'd see the floor. We knew he would play, and we knew he would play often.
While averaging 34.5 minutes per game was beneficial to Carter-Williams, Noel will have an opportunity to separate himself from the pack because of his versatility.
There are only two other players in the 2014 draft who have the ability to change a game in as many different ways. One of them is Andrew Wiggins, and the other is already a member of the Sixers—Joel Embiid.
Wiggins will be an obvious competitor simply because of how often he can wow you, but Embiid clearly won't be a threat since he'll miss so much time with his foot injury.
Noel has every opportunity to win the award because of what he can do on both the defensive and offensive ends of the floor.
Joel Embiid Will Miss the Entire 2014-15 Season
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Speaking of Joel Embiid, it's probably best to contain any excitement about seeing him play in a Philadelphia uniform, since it's highly likely that he'll miss the entire season after surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot.
The timetable for his return when diagnosed with the injury in late June was five to eight months, meaning we might see him anywhere in the November-to-February range.
His possible return is eerily similar to Noel last year, as one year of rehab on a torn left ACL had him scheduled to come back around the February mark.
We all remember what happened with Noel's situation, right?
When you have a potential prize on your hands, then you'll go to extreme measures to ensure that the prize can be around as long as possible.
Philly did it with Noel, and it only makes sense to believe it will do the same thing with Embiid.
Being patient is never easy, but it appears to have worked with subject No. 1. We'll see how it goes with subject No. 2.
The Sixers Will Allow 103.0 Points or Less Per Game on Defense
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This prediction might not scream the word "bold" to many, but it has to when you consider the fact that the Sixers allowed a league-worst 109.9 points per game during the 2013-14 season.
Take a second to truly digest how high nearly 110 points on average every game is. Scoring 111 points means your squad had an exceptional night. Having to average that kind of number in order to win is ridiculous to think about—and impossible to expect.
Adding Noel into the mix will easily help to protect the rim, and a player like K.J. McDaniels will provide the kind of perimeter defense necessary to take points away here and there.
Cutting out seven of those points doesn't sound like too big of a difference, but doing so would put the team in the middle of the NBA in points allowed.
It would be a huge difference over last place.
Hollis Thompson Will Regress
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Hollis Thompson was one of the 2013-14 season's most pleasant surprises.
It's easy to forget he was an undrafted rookie who had to battle to make the final regular-season roster. It's even wilder to think that the same guy would end up starting 41 games and play 22.6 minutes per game, while averaging 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and finishing the season shooting 40.1 percent from three-point range.
Unfortunately, his numbers are bound to decline this year.
There wasn't much pressure to maintain his level of play last season because nobody expected him to even be there. Add in some of the team's younger players, such as McDaniels or Jerami Grant, and it becomes clear that his position is the furthest thing from secure.
Philadelphia will lose a lot of games this season, and doing so allows for more flexibility with the lineup.
Thompson's numbers will fall because of it.
Philadelphia Will Continue to Lead the League in Possessions Per Game
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The Sixers finished last season with the most total possessions in the NBA, averaging 103.4 while the rest of the league varied from 93.8 to 102 per game.
It was Brett Brown's first season as an NBA head coach, and he did what former coach Doug Collins never managed to do: Develop a playing style based off the team's personnel instead of what the coach wants to run.
Sure, there were influences of Brown's own agenda, but there should have been. The key was that Philly had a young and incredibly athletic roster. Playing a reserved brand of basketball didn't make sense with what the players' possessed.
The 2014-15 season will be no different, as the Sixers have the NBA's youngest team with an average age of 23.4. The plan to get up and down the court will be just as prevalent as it was before.
It should be fun to watch as always.
Tony Wroten Will Average 14 Points, 4.0 Rebounds and 3.5 Assists
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Tony Wroten had a breakout 2013-14 season as a 20-year-old sixth man with limited NBA experience. He put up a very solid 13.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 24.5 minutes per game, and he proved he has the skills to be a threat at the professional level.
He's about to prove his performances were no fluke.
Wroten has nearly every tool at his disposal. He can take defenders off the dribble, has no problem finishing at the rim and can even step out and hit shots with range.
Defensively, he managed to secure an average of 1.1 steals, meaning he was opportunistic when given the chance.
The progression in his game will have to come from a mental standpoint. Wroten will need to make better decisions with the basketball, along with being more proactive with his approach to the game.
It would be surprising to see him fail to do either.
Brandon Davies Will Get Cut or Sent to the D-League
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Brandon Davies not being sent to the D-League one time last season should have gotten significantly more headlines than it never got.
We're talking about a guy who fit all of the D-League's criteria. He was an undrafted rookie whose 1.8 fouls nearly matched his scoring average of 2.8.
He also finished the year shooting 42.2 percent on 2.5 shots per game. The fact that he accomplished this in only 11.3 minutes screams being sent down to a league where players are tasked with finding and polishing their game.
Yet somehow, it didn't happen.
Miraculously, he managed to remain on the team's roster for the entire season. He even suffered a broken finger midway through the year and patiently waited until he was ready to go again. Sure enough, there Davies was, back in the game and struggling to make much of an impact.
There are too many young players with potential for this cycle to repeat itself during the 2014-15 season. He will either get sent down or cut at some point.
If neither action is ever taken, then we know Philadelphia and the Sixers organization are playing a giant joke on the entire NBA community.
Michael Carter-Williams Will Be Limited to 50 Games
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Reports recently surfaced saying Carter-Williams was hoping to only miss Philadelphia's first seven games after recovering from surgery on his right shoulder and return on November 13 against the Dallas Mavericks.
The scary part is that this could only be the beginning for Carter-Williams and missing time during the 2014-15 season.
A right shoulder injury is a scary one. Not only is it his shooting arm, but Carter-Williams plays a very drive-oriented style of basketball.
He does a great job of attacking gaps off the dribble and using ball screens to penetrate the defense. Unfortunately, those are great opportunities to draw contact, and it's not what the second-year point guard needs right now.
Carter-Williams isn't a good enough perimeter shooter to spend the majority of his time around the three-point line. He thrives on attacking, and there's a high probability of it leading to more injuries.
It wouldn't be surprising to see him play in 50 games or less based off his current injury and style of play.
Philadelphia Will End the Season with Less Than 19 Wins
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Ending the year worse than last year's 19-63 finish would require other teams to have improved over the offseason and Philadelphia to stay around the same level.
That's pretty much exactly what took place.
Let's remember that the Sixers began last season with a semi-respectable starting lineup.
2013-14 Starting Lineup:
PG | Michael Carter-Williams |
SG | James Anderson |
SF | Evan Turner |
PF | Thaddeus Young |
C | Spencer Hawes |
This was the same roster that won 10 of the team's first 31 games. The trade deadline came, and it was the beginning of a mass exodus that led to where the Sixers currently sit.
Carter-Williams is now the only player from that lineup still on Philadelphia's roster, and it goes to show how difficult repeating last year's poor performance will be.
Fans Will Begin to Grow Sick of "Operation Tank Like Crazy"
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Two years of expecting to lose is about two years too long.
It could happen at a number of different points, but there will come a time when fans begin to get impatient and want to see the end result of Sam Hinkie's master plan.
A new NBA season is about to take place, and Philadelphia fans still don't know whether they should do what's natural and cheer for the team to win, or do what could be in the franchise’s best interest and hope for losses.
If the second option takes place, then there will always be the little feeling of pain as losses pile up because seeing your squad lose is never fun.
Regardless of if the team is trying to or not.
The clock is ticking, and the need to win will soon surpass the continual losing. This will be Philadelphia's last chance at rebuilding for the foreseeable future, and we'll finally get to see if it was all worth it.
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