WINNER: Philadelphia 76ers
Zoom out, and over the past three-plus weeks, the Sixers have turned Paul George (who played 78 regular-season games during his two seasons in Philly), two first-round picks and two second-round picks into Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. Pretty good!
Before the Brown trade, the Sixers looked like a team that might have a tough time improving significantly on last season’s 45-37 play-in finish. Dealing for the five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA swingman seemed like a boost worth a couple of wins, one that could get Philly into the East’s top six and within hailing distance of home-court advantage in Round 1. Add in LeBron, and it’s easy to start talking yourself into 50-plus wins and a real shot at challenging the defending NBA champion New York Knicks for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Brown gives the Sixers the sort of dynamic perimeter slasher — more drives to the basket per game last season than anybody but Deni Avdija — and bruising, reliable high-level two-way big wing they haven’t had since Jimmy Butler’s brief stint in Pennsylvania. LeBron remains one of the NBA’s visionary passers and playmakers, capable of injecting pace, precision and a whole bunch of points into virtually any offensive setting.
Both can sprint the floor and fill the lane in transition. Both can work either end of a pick-and-roll, hunting more lumbering bigs or mashing smaller defenders in the low post on switches. Both can contribute on or off the ball; both can command the offense in second units; both can lighten the load on All-NBA point guard Maxey, who led the NBA in minutes per game last season, and former MVP center Embiid, whose ability to remain upright and ambulatory remains the biggest question lording over the entire Philadelphia enterprise.
Adding James bumps free-agent signing Dean Wade from the starting lineup to the bench, improving Philly’s depth by bolstering a reserve corps that also features gunner Anfernee Simons, big men Ariel Hukporti, Adem Bona and Dominick Barlow, wings Justin Edwards and Jabari Walker, and 2026 first-round pick Labaron Philon Jr. That second unit might not look like a murderer’s row; the fact that Nurse will likely be able to keep at least two of Embiid, Maxey, James and Brown on the floor at all times, though, ought to make those reserves’ lives a hell of a lot easier from a shot-creation and floor-raising perspective.
Only 10 qualifying players averaged at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game last season. The Sixers just added two of them. They’re going to be better. Maybe a lot better.
WINNER: Joel Embiid, Playing the Long Game
What started in 2014 and continued in 2018 has now, finally, come together. It’s like they always say in Philly: Have faith in the system.
STILL THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THIS WHOLE SHEBANG: Joel Embiid’s Health
The big fella has played just 109 total regular-season and playoff games over the last three seasons. In that span, the Sixers have outscored opponents by 356 points in 3,604 minutes with him on the floor, and have been outscored by -729 in 9,206 minutes with him off it.
At the risk of oversimplifying things: When Embiid plays, the Sixers are good, and often very good, and when he doesn’t, they are not, and often extremely not. This has held true virtually regardless of which co-stars the Sixers have employed, which coach is calling plays from the sideline, and which front office is building the roster.
Yes, the arrivals of James and Brown to join Maxey and Edgecombe represent what looks like an excellent failsafe, particularly on the offensive end. But can Hukporti, Bona and (gasp) LeBron-at-the-5 give the Sixers enough on the glass and protecting the paint to keep the defense from falling off a cliff when Embiid’s not available, whether due to injury or just needing a breather? Can Embiid get his lower limbs sufficiently oiled up to be able to hold up in pick-and-roll coverage more effectively than he did during the second round, when the Knicks absolutely flame-broiled him in space? And, as always, the billion-dollar question: Can Embiid stay upright and productive into April, May and June?
If the answer to that question is the same as it’s been to this point in his career, then it’s hard to see the Sixers getting where they — and their extremely well-decorated newcomer — desperately want to go.
