Bold 76ers predictions for the 2022-23 NBA season
Bold 76ers predictions for the 2022-23 NBA season: The Philadelphia 76ers retooled throughout the offseason following a disappointing 2021-22 season that saw them again fall short of the Eastern Conference finals.
They will start the upcoming season hoping to reach the NBA Finals finally. The Sixers re-signed James Harden and bolstered their roster with new acquisitions such as P.J. Tucker, Danuel House, De’Anthony Melton, and Montrezl Harrell, among others.
The updated version For the first time since 2001, the Sixers will try to reach the conference finals. This season has the potential to be historic for the Sixers.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at four outlandish forecasts for the upcoming ’22-23 season. (Don’t get mad at me if some or all of these predictions don’t come true; remember, they’re bold.)
Joel Embiid (finally) wins MVP
After coming in second place in MVP voting to Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets the past two seasons, Joel Embiid has a chance to win the league’s most prestigious individual award this year. Jokic deserved to win, but Embiid has been just as dominant, if not more so.
He averaged over 30 points per game last season, making him the first center to do so since Shaquille O’Neal and the first to lead the league in scoring since Moses Malone.
As his lack of endurance has been a problem in the past, especially when it comes to winning the MVP award, the fact that he participated in a career-high 68 games is crucial.
Assuming he stays on the court, Embiid will again be a serious candidate for MVP honors, thanks to his overpowering statistical output over the season.
There’s a chance that Embiid’s near misses the last two years will influence the minds of some voters. In addition, Embiid has the benefit of precedent. Jerry West and George Gervin are the only two players in NBA history to have finished second in MVP voting more than once without winning the award.
Tyrese Maxey makes first All-Star team.
I finished making a list of five players who could be first-timers on the All-Star squad in 2023. It was wise to include Sixers third-year guard Tyrese Maxey on that list.
Maxey, who had seen spotty action as a rookie, started every game last year as point guard when Ben Simmons was injured and never looked back, even when James Harden was added to the 76ers’ roster. As his role expanded, his statistics grew, and he soon became a crucial cog in Philadelphia’s offense.
Maxey saw an increase in the scoring of 11.5 points per game and an increase in assists of 4.3 points per game from his rookie to sophomore campaigns. Of particular note is the fact that his percentage from beyond the arc increased from 30% as a rookie to 42% as a sophomore.
This development solidified his status as a worthy complement to All-Star center Joel Embiid. His versatility could make him a good fit alongside Harden in Philadelphia’s backcourt. With his tireless work ethic, Maxey has a great chance of being named to the All-Star team multiple times in the future.
Whether or not Maxey can make another leap in performance when paired with Embiid and Harden is an open question, but it appears that the Sixers have high hopes for him.
Sixers head of basketball operations Daryl Morey recently observed, “The biggest inflection point is, probably, we need Maxey to take another step forward.”
His performance in his first year as a professional was really impressive. His second year was even more productive than the first, so asking for another huge jump forward is ambitious but necessary. Given how much work he puts in, I wouldn’t be surprised if he succeeded.”
James Harden has the most assists in the league.
Given that Harden still managed to finish second in assists per game despite being traded in the middle of the season, my prediction may not be all that daring.
Harden had the second-highest assist rate among players last year, behind only Chris Paul, and Paul only by a margin of.5 per game (10.8 compared to 10.3).
Only Chris Paul and James Harden averaged double-digit assists, and the Sixers improved their offense by giving Harden more options to dish the ball to this offseason. The new additions include two floor-spacers with whom Harden is already familiar from his time in Houston: P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.
Harden’s ability to split the defense and disperse the ball to the perimeter should result in plenty of open looks for those two.
Similarly, Montrezl Harrell, who played with Harden from 2015 to 2017 in Houston, was acquired by the Sixers. Harrell is a reliable pick-and-roll partner for Harden, so he should get his fair share of assists from Harden.
If he does so this season, it wouldn’t be the first time that Harden has led the NBA in assists. During the 2016–17 campaign, he also matched that total.
76ers get the top seed in the Eastern Conference
Sixers teams have a five-time history of having the top record in the Eastern Conference. As recently as the end of the 2020-21 season, they had clinched the conference’s top seed.
This season may be the sixth occurrence. Despite their fourth-place finish last year, the Sixers were just two games behind the first-place Heat in the playoffs.
The fact that Maxey keeps improving is also encouraging for the team’s prospects this year. In the end, it doesn’t matter how high a club finishes in the standings unless they can use that advantage to go far in the playoffs.
Two years ago, we learned that being the number one seed didn’t necessarily mean anything when the Philadelphia 76ers lost their second-round home game to the Atlanta Hawks. However, Philadelphia can still achieve success by working to keep the edge of playing in its own building throughout the conference finals.
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