NBA: 5 reasons why the Philadelphia 76ers are the team to avoid in the East Playoffs

Sam Hinkie's move to trade Jrue Holliday for Nerlens Noel and a top-5 protected 2014 draft pick from the New Orleans Pelicans kicked off a period of 4 seasons during which the Philadelphia 76ers played historically bad basketball. They won a combined 75 games over the next 4 regular season campaigns for a win percentage of .228 over this period.

They stunk so bad that fans exasperated with their embarrassing play clamored for, and eventually succeeded in getting Sam Hinkie to resign from his role. But they drafted well over this period, and have built the franchise back up with shrewd acquisitions over the past 2 offseasons.

Currently, they have an intriguing mix of proven NBA role players, bonafide superstars, and veterans. As such, they have the ability to spring a surprise or two in the 2018 Playoffs. We now take a look at the top 5 reasons why:

#5 Mismatches

#21 Joel Embiid

The Sixers are a team which have 3 players at 6'10" or above in the starting lineup. They also have Robert Covington, who at 6'9" is taller than your average NBA small forward. This quite evident difference in size and length gives them an advantage the very second they step on the court. Joel Embiid at 7'2" and Simmons at 6'10", in particular, have a very good game in the paint area.

In addition, Embiid often clears out of the paint for a 5-out offense on various plays, which gives room to their wing players to make plays on cuts. It also allows for Saric to put his driving game to effective use. Saric is an effective player in isolation and can also get the job done late in games, should their opponents push hard double teams on Embiid and/or Simmons.

#4 Simmons and Embiid

Simmons and Embiid in action against the Celtics

Most NBA franchises would trade away half of their rosters, given the chance to acquire either of these unicorns. And they would do it without a second thought or the slightest regret even if Simmons/Embiid went down for a season or so.That's how transcendental both of these players are.

Simmons, in his first campaign taking the floor, is averaging 16.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.4 assists despite his obvious lack of a reliable jump shot. His defensive awareness, both in on-ball situations and help defense, is way above average for a rookie player. With Simmons running the Sixers offense, expect them to score off a number of fancy plays in transition, as well as on the half-court set.

Embiid is the best center playing in the Eastern Conference right now. His unstoppable post play and the effectiveness of his jumper allow him to coast to a spectacular 23.8 points per game average, while his physique, athleticism and defensive positioning make him an elite rebounder with 11.3 rebounds per game. His net rating of 10.7 points per 100 possessions is the best in the league for a non-Rockets/Warriors player playing 24 minutes or more and is bound to increase in the Playoffs with additional minutes.

#3 A deep rotation

#9 Dario Saric

Early on in the season, the 76ers suffered in the win-loss record in large part due to the lack of quality bench players. Bryan Colangelo, the 76ers' President of the Basketball Operations, signed Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova as free agents post the trade deadline, and this has helped their depth chart significantly.

The Sixers rotation can now legitimately be up to 9 players deep, with TJ McConnell and Amir Johnson as the other two reliable bench players. The importance of a deep rotation can never be overstated, as we saw in the 2016 Western Conference Finals when the Oklahoma City Thunder's shortened rotation meant that their players ran out of gas in the last two games of the series.

#2 Defensive prowess

Embiid and Saric playing defense on Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart.

61 games into the season, the 76ers are ranked 4th in the league in defensive efficiency, averaging 102.9 points conceded per 100 possessions. This is one of the most underappreciated outcomes of 'The Process', as they have acquired elite on-ball defenders.

Individually, they have an above-average defense when we really get down to comparing teams man-for-man. Ben Simmons ranks tenth in the league in steals per game (1.8), and his foot speed, basketball IQ and feel for defense helps him handle a number of assignments every game.

Joel Embiid is the third-best center in the game as per defensive rating (99.5), and he limits opponents to a stingy 40.3% field goal percentage despite defending nearly all of his shot attempts inside the paint area.

Robert Covington and Dario Saric are also elite on-ball defenders, and together the four are able to cover for Reddick and Belinelli, whoever is on court at the time.

#1 The lack of a true favorite in the Conference

Ben Simmons and LeBron James (Image courtesy: si.com)

Unlike the past 7 regular season campaigns, when LeBron James-led teams were clearly a cut above the rest of the Eastern Conference, the playing field is much more level this season. With Kyrie Irving's trade to the Celtics, the Cavaliers cannot claim to be unanimous favorites to progress to the NBA Finals with the same dominance that they have displayed over the past three playoffs.

The Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are fighting it out for the top seed and homecourt advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs, and whoever loses out is almost certainly a lock for the #2 seed. The Cavaliers are not even guaranteed the third seed with 21 games remaining, as the Wizards, Bucks and the 76ers are all on the rise at this point in the season.

A level playing field allows teams to run their usual plays and set up defensive schemes which they are used to, instead of having to account too much for a dominant opponent player's increased impact.

The 76ers have a starting five capable of going toe-to-toe with the very best teams of the league on their night. They are a young team and are less likely to be plagued by the accumulated fatigue of the regular season, whereas older teams like the Cavaliers and Raptors may have to account for this factor.

All of these elements are in favor of new challengers arriving on the block, and the 76ers are perhaps the best of teams in this category in the Eastern Conference.