Is this finally the The Philadelphia 76ers“Is now the time to go on a deep playoff run? Time is running out for the Sixers after the Joel Embiid era, even though they maximized their remaining chances with a busy 2024 offseason. Paul George was a massive addition, the supporting cast was revamped and the team has draft picks and young players to use in trades. There’s a lot more hope for Philly heading into the 2024-25 season — and even more urgency.
The 76ers went 31-8 with Embiid last season, giving them a winning percentage in such games of 79.5, higher than the Boston Celtics (78.0), the defending champion and one of the best teams in recent memory. But their overall record was just 47-35. They won’t be as hopeless without Embiid as they were last season, but expecting them to win at the pace they did with Embiid last year is a bit overly optimistic.
According to statistics site Positive Residual, the 76ers have the 10th easiest record in the NBAThey should be better suited to Embiid’s absences and have a dynamic supporting cast that elevates Embiid (and vice versa). Philly is going to rack up a lot of wins this season. The only question is how many.
76ers face some early tests before schedule heats up at midseason
The most 76ers have important games on the schedule are a handful of matchups against their biggest Eastern Conference competitors.
For the first third of the season, the Sixers will face a lot of good teams, but mostly in big, isolated games. They’ll open their season by hosting the Milwaukee Bucks. They’ll see the Indiana Pacers a few games later, then play the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers at home in back-to-back games in November. The games against their biggest opponents will be interspersed with games against mediocre or average teams.
Then the heat will really turn up starting on Christmas against the Celtics, arguably the most important game of the 76ers’ 2024-25 regular season.
The Sixers’ first game against the defending champions, who they’ll almost certainly face in the playoffs, kicks off a six-game road trip. The competition on that trip isn’t crazy — Philly will see three of the league’s five worst teams (Utah, Portland and Brooklyn) and two decent playoff contenders (Golden State and Sacramento) after facing Boston — but a road trip that long could be a real pain in the butt.
Later in January, the Sixers will play seven games against the 2024 playoff teams: the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Knicks, Pacers, Bucks, Denver Nuggets and Cavaliers. Games 1, 4, 5 and 6 of that series will be away from home. It will be perhaps the toughest stretch of the season, a stretch of about two weeks without a game they can win just by showing up.
The 76ers will play the Nuggets again in late January, then host the Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. All four games are at home, but each could be a test, especially against the stingy Heat on the second night of a two-game series.
Long road sections in March followed by a final straight in April
The Sixers will play 10 of their 17 games in March at other teams’ stadiums, their longest stretch of road games all season. Those games include a six-game road trip to Texas and other parts of the South. They have a few tough road games in March against powerhouse teams like the Celtics, Thunder, Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
March’s packed road schedule feeds into two weeks in April that will be mostly home games for the Sixers. After facing the New Orleans Pelicans in the Big Easy on March 26, Philly will play just three road games the rest of the trip. Only one of those games, against the Heat, will require flying. The other two games will be in New York and Washington, D.C., making for a more relaxed trip.
Even though the Sixers will have to face the Knicks, Bucks and Timberwolves in April, playing only at home for the final three weeks of the regular season is a huge advantage. Not having to worry about a long trip to the playoffs will be a luxury that should really come in handy if there are any late-season injuries to deal with.
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The strengths (or weaknesses) of NBA schedules aren’t limitless, though. This isn’t the NFL, which hands out unique schedules that can be improved by whether a division is loaded or depleted of talent. The 76ers have plenty of good and bad stretches in their season, just like everyone else. Their ability to succeed in their run depends on their health and how much of an improvement George proves to be.
76ers record prediction for 2024-25 season: 55-27
55 wins would be Philly’s most since the 2000-01 season. Only four teams won that many games last season. But this year’s Sixers have what it takes to get there, provided Embiid doesn’t miss an excessive number of games.
It’s hard to predict the 76ers’ record given the injuries Embiid and George could face. As the team saw last season, removing Embiid from the equation makes it harder for everyone. Any time they encounter the unfortunate fate of having an Embiid-sized hole in their sail, they can better fix it with another All-Star on the team and a more experienced emergency starter in Andre Drummond. Tyrese Maxey might also feel more responsibility to be more capable of consistently thriving without Embiid.
The Sixers should be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference — and that top class could distance itself even further from the East’s underlings. The divide between the conference’s decent and bad teams could grow even wider with teams like the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls firmly embarking on rebuilds, the Brooklyn Nets filling their tanks, and the Atlanta Hawks keeping their tank keys close at hand. The Celtics and Knicks highlight the conference’s other heavyweights, a class Philly should almost certainly be a part of.
Embiid played the best basketball of his life in the 2022-23 season, where he played 66 games and the 76ers won 54 games overall, and then got even better under Nick Nurse. With his experience playing in the Olympics and a His All-Star Friend Embiid is poised to have another monster season with his joining the team. Further improvement from Maxey and the strengthened roster around them will give Philly the chance to
