The Philadelphia 76ers are the first team that secured the participation in the second round of the Eastern Conference after defeating the Miami Heat in five games. They are now waiting for the next opponent in the Eastern semis as Boston and Milwaukee are looking to book their place, and the series currently stands at 3-2 for the Celtics.
The Heat couldn’t handle “The Process”
The young Sixers were the slight favorites to eliminate the Heat in the opening round of the playoffs, but only a few expected to see them doing that in five games. The crucial moment of the series occurred in game four when the Philadelphia 76ers came from 10+ points behind to snatch a road victory and give themselves a match point in front of their own fans at the Wells Fargo Center.
They took an opportunity and knocked out Miami in what it was Joel Embiid’s first playoff game at home after he recovered from a facial injury, and with him below the rims, the Sixers are now even stronger. Ben Simmons was surely the primary weapon in the series with the Heat and the former No. 1 pick is in a pole position to win the Rookie of the Year award as the bookies are pegging him at -10000. There is virtually no chance he will lose to Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, who also had a great season, to be honest.
Brett Brown: From zero to hero
The 47-year-old Sixers head coach, Brett Brown, went through an agony when the Sixers finished with ten wins a couple of seasons ago, and although Philadelphia’s decision to keep him on board surprised many, it proved to be a real deal for the team as Brown transformed into a legitimate NBA contender.
Brown only has 127 wins and 283 losses in 410 regular season games in his career, which is just .310, while he missed playoffs in all previous four years in Philly, but his time has finally come, and he has an opportunity to become the first-ever coach who won the NBA Championship with under .500. Still, Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers have a long way to go, but he is one of the candidates to win the Coach of the Year award as the bookies are giving him +380 odds to get that accolade.
“The Process” is here to stay
The Sixers undoubtedly have the most talented squad in the NBA, and although they lack playoff experience as this is the first time they reached the postseason since the 2011/12 season when they also made it to the Eastern semis, it seems that this contingent of players has the quality to make a step forward.
The 76ers missed out on the playoffs in the last few years and we all remember two seasons ago when they recorded miserable ten wins, so the progress is evident as Brett Brown managed to create a team capable of battling for the very top.
The current question is whether the Philadelphia 76ers are strong enough to go all the way and make it to the NBA Finals, and although the Cleveland Cavaliers are a bit weaker than they were last year, I still believe LeBron James and co. are the frontrunners for the Eastern Conference title.
However, they are tied at two with the Indiana Pacers and Philly already advanced to the next round, so it’s going to be interesting to see if the Cavs will even get to the second round. In fact, the 76ers have slightly better chances to win the East as they are at +220 at the moment, and only the Toronto Raptors are above them according to the bookies.
What’s next for the Philadelphia 76ers?
The current series between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks will give us an answer who will join the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, and Brad Stevens’ side is 3-2 up at the moment, but the next tilt will be played in Milwaukee where Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. will do everything in their power to force the game 7.
If that happens, the Sixers will have even more time to rest and exploit the potential tiredness of the Celtics/Bucks, which would put them in a commanding position to reach the Eastern Finals. We already talked about Philadelphia’s chances to win the conference, but they are also regarded as the fifth team to win the NBA Championship at +1000, so maybe their time is now and not the future.
However, they must take one game at time and continue playing at the high level they did in the last month of the regular season and now in the playoffs, and who knows, maybe they will follow the steps of Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles who upset the odds and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl this season. Even if they get knocked out in the next round, their time is coming and the message for Philly’s fans remains the same – Trust “The Process”!
