This Might Actually Be The 76ers’ Year…

This Might Actually Be The 76ers’ Year…

Another week has come and gone, which means we’re back with another episode of Your Take, Not Mine, the series that we do here on this channel where I turn to you guys, the viewers, to give me your hottest NBA takes at the time. And then I pick my favorite ones to submit and discuss in this video. Of course, with this, I also have some exciting news because, as I mentioned in my last video, my rap community is now launched. It’s up and running and all of you I’m hoping to see in there because for a few things there’s going to be some exclusive content we’re posting over in this community where we’re going to be doing some live watchalongs. We’re going to be doing some live discussions. We’re going to have a place where your submissions for this series will take top priority. So, if you want a chance to be featured in this series moving forward, that will be the place to do it. And overall, I’m just excited for there to be a way to interact with all of you guys on a more consistent basis. Now, I’ll leave the link to join down in the description and in the pinned comments, so please go check that out. We’re doing our first watch along for the season opener, so come through and watch with us. Now, with that being said though, let’s get to the hot takes. The first take we’ll be discussing today comes to us from Dawn and he says that the Boston Celtics are still going to end up being a top five seed in the East this season despite losing half of their core this off season. All of the momentum that the Celtics built up over the last few years seemed to come to a crashing halt when Jason Tatum tore his Achilles in the playoffs. And with the recovery time historically holding people who suffer that injury out of the entire next season, the team themselves chose to go a different route this summer. They shipped out all of their aging stars on big contracts like Drew Holiday and Chris Porzingis. They allowed both Al Horford and Luke Cornet to walk in free agency. And despite bringing in Anthony Simons as a result of the Drew Holiday trade, it seems pretty apparent that the franchise is embracing a mini rebuild season while they wait for Tatum to get back healthy again. They do still have all-star Jaylen Brown leading the way this season. And Derek White, Pton Pritchard, and Anthony Simons make up an incredibly productive backcourt rotation with shotmaking and playmaking that can burn anybody’s defense. But the team’s front court is going to be a major problem. There’s just no two ways about it. They’re now in a position where players like Chris Boucher, Neimus Ketta, and Xavier Tilman are going to be playing major minutes all year inside, despite all of them being career bench players at best. And honestly, bench warmers more often than not. And the defense the Celtics are used to dominating with just isn’t nearly as imposing anymore. Plus, Jaylen Brown is now dealing with hamstring issues with the season about to begin. So, even if he doesn’t miss any time, that may be something that lingers and could hamper his play. The East may be weaker than usual this season, but I still think there are squads that can be strong at the top. And I do not view the Celtics as a viable top five seed. The Knicks and Cavaliers are the two surefire top teams coming in. Then teams like the Magic, Hawks, Bucks, and 76ers all have a lot of talent to solidify playoff spots. And even the Pistons and Raptors are looking to make leaps. So that right there is already eight teams that I think will be better than Boston. And even if a few of those teams do disappoint, it still doesn’t leave Boston in the top five. The next take we’ll be discussing today comes to us from Asher and he says that this will finally be the year that the 76ers make a title run during the Joel Embiid era. The 76ers very well may be the most difficult team to predict the outcome of going into this season because there are genuinely so many realistic paths this group can go down. We saw last year what happens when the injury bug hits as hard as it possibly can with them being forced to shut down their top guys and tank by the end of it. We’ve also seen the Sixers consistently push the 50 win marker anytime Joel Embiid plays over half the season and have been hovering near the top of the conference standings most of his career. The craziest part about their outlook is that this genuinely may be the most talented Sixers roster that has ever been put around Joel Embiid in his entire career. What I’m about to say is going to sound like a pretty hot take here, but the Sixers might actually have the best back court in the entire NBA. Tyrese Maxi is an all-star talent who has been putting up about 26 points per game two years in a row now. And while he had a down year shooting the ball efficiency-wise last season, he has historically been one of the most efficient volume scorers in the game. Quinton Grimes exploded last season after being traded to the Sixers and has proven he can be another highly efficient 20point scorer who also defends the perimeter well. Jared McCain was leading the Rookie of the Year race comfortably last year before he went down with an injury, but his sharp shooting and brilliant movement and comfortability getting his shots off from all three levels is going to be a weapon they now have in their sixth man role. And rookie VJ Edgecomb has already looked like a star in the making as an explosive slashing force that gets to the rim at will and already has shown signs of being a lockown defender in the making. There is a lot to like about the Sixers right now, but ultimately they won’t actually be able to accomplish anything unless Joel Embiid and Paul George can refind their form. Embiid just got cleared to return to the court after taking the last 8 months off to fully focus on rehabbing his knee. And while the only preseason game that he took part in was obviously a pretty small sample size against weaker competition, he did admittedly look a lot more spry than he did at any point last season when his knee was clearly affecting his play. Still, I and many of you probably still have doubts about whether Embiid can ever return to his MVP caliber level of play, but I’m not even sure that he needs to be at that level for this team to reach heights they never reached before. As I just mentioned, the Sixers now have four guards who are good enough to be starters, and all of them can drop 20 on any given night. Embiid just needs to get back to protecting the rim at a high level, as he always does. providing a good amount of scoring, which has always come natural to him, even if he’s not able to put up the 30 that he has shown he could in the past. He’s shown that he has been working more on passing the ball, too. So, if he’s commanding double teams, he now has the talent around him to punish defenses for overextending on him. And with a more balanced approach, the Sixers can start playing faster, which is to the benefit of guys like Tyrese Maxi and VJ Edgecomb. Going back to the original take, if the Sixers can actually have a year where the injury bug avoids them, I don’t see why they can’t be a title contender right next to the Knicks and Cavaliers. But obviously, until they prove they can actually hold up, I understand why most will be hesitant to buy into them. And finally, the last take we’ll be discussing today comes to us from Quinton, and he says that the Brooklyn Nets are being very underrated going into the season and could make the playin tournament and possibly the playoffs. This one definitely counts as a pretty hot take because I don’t think I’ve seen anybody predict the Nets to finish anywhere but the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. And I myself am pretty low on them, too. So, I felt that a take like this was at least worth exploring. And I’m willing to look at their outlook with a glass half full perspective for this. Starting with their leading scorer, Cam Thomas, who is coming back on a one-year prove it deal trying to play his way into a bigger payday next summer. I may not necessarily be his biggest fan, but he is undoubtedly an incredibly talented scorer of the ball. Taking and making tough shots is not something many players in the league are even capable of doing. And Thomas lives on that self-creation, capable of getting anywhere on the court and pulling up confidently, as he averaged 24 points per game last season on at least league average shooting splits. The Nets offense was also eight points better per 100 possessions with Thomas on the floor last year, which is undeniable impact. Michael Porter Jr. is also one of the best volume three-point shooters in the game, shooting 40% or better from three every single season of his career, except for 2022 when he only played nine games when he suffered an injury that ended his season. I even think it’s worth acknowledging that the rookie class coming in being made up primarily of young playmakers that love to pass the ball and find the open man will only make the lives of Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. even easier. But even with all of that being said, I don’t think the team is nearly good enough regarding the amount of firepower around those two. And defensively, they are going to be a bit of a nightmare. Over half of this roster is made up of first or secondyear players, and young guys like that rarely ever make a positive impact on the defensive end. Cam Thomas is a pretty horrific defender and has found himself getting benched countless times throughout his career for his lack of effort on that end. And Nick Claxton’s defensive impact did slip a little bit last year after he was a pretty sturdy rim protector the previous two years. So, he needs to now show that he’s ready for a bounce back before I can put all of my faith in him holding this defense together. I fear that they’re a young team being led by two Ballhogs that will post empty stats night after night. And honestly, I think there’s a better chance of them finishing in last place in the East than there is of them making the play in tournament. And that’s just how I feel about it. And with that being said, that’s all I have for you today. Make sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and comment down below what you think about the takes we just discussed. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you all next time.

Join my Raptive community today and join us for our first watch along for the opening night games tomorrow! – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RKKxUk-Lm9BGFu0zY6nRrA966gwk4AU50Gwcxs8X4a4/viewform?edit_requested=true

Your Take, Not Mine is a series where I turn to the viewers to submit their NBA hot takes and I then select my favorite submissions to discuss in a video! Celtics, Joel Embiid and more discussed

BUSINESS – hoopsreference@gmail.com

Degeneracy Picks – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOGG7EgfTXJiRz5QnO59wPg

SUPPORT ON PATREON – https://www.patreon.com/hoopsreference

SEATGEEK CODE: hoopsreference ($20 off your first purchase at seatgeek.com)

FOLLOW ON TWITTER – https://twitter.com/HoopsReference

FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM – https://www.instagram.com/jdhoopsrefererence

Welcome to the Hoops Reference YouTube Channel! Subscribe for all things NBA content! Multiple new video every week. Leave a like if you enjoyed what you saw! Thanks for watching!

#nba #basketball