2018-19 Season Preview: Philadelphia 76ers

Team Strengths

Ben Simmons

One number which pops up from last season regarding the Philadelphia 76ers is their salary cap - $104 million just over the cap. Philadelphia is in a great position as they are barely paying any luxury tax and the have the second or third best chances to reach the NBA Finals through the East.

With LeBron out of the picture, Philly has one less team to worry about and can rest their players to better prepare them for the playoffs. Moreover, the star players Embiid, Saric and Simmons are only in their 3rd and 2nd year in the NBA as per playing seasons so they were still a rookie squad and still won 50 games.

Their biggest competitor to reach the finals are the Boston Celtics. Last year, Philly lost the series 4-1 against the Celtics in the Conference Semifinals but three of the lost games were within 5 points and now that Kyrie Irving and Hayward are back in the playing roster there will be some confusion of the offensive head in the final minutes. The reliance on other players and who closes games will cause confusion which gives Brett Brown to expose the Celtics' vulnerabilities.