NBA 2018-19: 3 Factors That Make Philadelphia 76ers East Finals Contenders
The Sixers GM, Elton Brand knows the time is here. The fans in Philly can feel it.
The team looks sharper than ever with the All-Star break right around the corner and less than 30 games to go before the postseason kicks off. The Sixers are currently occupying the 4th spot out in the East with a 36-20(0.643) win-loss record to their name. Toronto, Milwaukee, and Oladipo-less Indiana are the only teams besting Philadelphia at the moment.
Now that the trade deadline has passed and the rosters are set, we can list the factors solidifying their legit playoff bid, through the settled smoke. Let's try and jot down a bunch of pivotal talking points acting towards Philadelphia's recent upward curve.
#1 The Sixers front office bagged some quality reinforcements before the trade deadline
According to ESPN's records,
Philadelphia 76ers Acquired Fs Tobias Harris, C Boban Marjanovic and F Mike Scott from the Los Angeles Clippers for G Landry Shamet, F Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala, a lottery-protected 2020 first-round draft pick, a 2021 first-, 2021 second- and 2023 second-round picks.
The above-mentioned move happened on February 6th, hours before the trade deadline, and many believe that Philly sneaked away with one of the best trade deals of this year's mid-season player-exchange window.
The Clippers were hanging by a thread already, down at the eighth spot on the West leaderboard, and were able to draw maximum output of a roster consisting of not even a single reputed name.
Tobias was leading the Clippers in scoring when he got shipped to Philly with his close friend Boban and teammate Mike Scott. Experts have been trying to wrap their heads around the trade that matched quality with quantity, which eventually led to the Clippers being robbed of their star player.
On the other hand, the Sixers now possess a killer starting lineup of Harris, Embiid, Simmons, Redick, and Butler. Their most recent 23-point rout of LeBron's Lakers was just a glimpse of what Harris' amalgamation can do to their postseason campaign in a nutshell.