Sixers Playoff Preview: NBA Championship Or Bust

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The 2021 NBA season has been the gratification of years of attenuated promise for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Glimmers of the fate that now appears nascent on the clearing horizon have been a looming promise to Sixers fans for the better part of a decade now. As the franchise embarked on a torturous rebuilding Process, all eyes were always aspiring to this moment: number one seed in the East, and a clear road to an NBA championship in a year in which there is no apparent dynasty, no overwhelming favorite.

The Sixers have home court advantage guaranteed throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. At a minimum, the goal is to win the East: but anyone who has watched this group the past five or six years know that the goal has always been an NBA championship, dynasty or no dynasty, regardless of what super teams may stand in their way.

They will start off facing Washington Wizards, who defeated the Indiana Pacers in the play-in game.

The conference semifinals are as far as this group has gotten, taking the ultimate NBA champion Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard down to the final second in an unforgettable seven game thriller in 2019. This year, optimistic Sixers fans will look to the Conference Finals as their first true test, where the overwhelming likelihood is they’ll face off against either the Brooklyn Nets or the Milwaukee Bucks.

It’s difficult to discern which opponent to prefer. The Nets were the better regular season team and have several superstars, yet face glaring defensive weaknesses and have not matched up well against Philly. The Bucks are inconsistent and have yet to get it done in the postseason, but have played well against the Sixers and boast the reigning MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It’s undoubtedly a different Sixers team than the one that’s fallen just short in the past. Embiid is a superstar in the midst of the best year of his career. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris are All Star-caliber players, and the roster is filled by a variety of specialists — Seth Curry’s laser shooting, Matthise Thybulle’s all-world defense, Tyrese Maxey’s dynamism.

Danny Green has proven the perfect complement to the Simmons and Embiid, a comparability riddle which new head coach Doc Rivers and new president Daryl Morey seem to have finally solved.

Even if they get past the Nets or Bucks, the Sixers would likely be underdogs against whoever emerges from the West: the Jazz, Suns, and Lakers all look primed for deep runs, but realistically almost any of the eight playoff teams in that conference could emerge as Finals contenders. Nonetheless, this is a team built to win in June, with players and a coach who have been planning for this exact situation since last December.

Here’s the first round schedule:

• Game 1 in Philadelphia on Sunday, May 23 at 1 p.m. ET
• Game 2 in Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 26 at 7 p.m. ET
• Game 3 in D.C. on Saturday, May 29 at 7 p.m. ET
• Game 4 in D.C. on Monday, May 31
• Game 5 in Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 2
• Game 6 in D.C. on Friday, June 4
• Game 7 in Philadelphia on June 6