The start of the NBA season approaching means it’s time for my favorite bi-annual tradition: depressing my coworkers by asking them long term questions about the state of the Philadelphia 76ers. As a team that quickly went from title contenders to ping pong ball hopefuls, there’s a lot of ways this season can go. So I’ve gotten the Liberty Ballers staff one of the hardest questions in the league: how the hell is this Sixers season going to go?
The books have set the Sixers win total to 42.5 Where
you set that number and how close do you think they get to that 42.5 number?
Sean Kennedy: I go slightly over, maybe 44 or 45 wins. There is a ton of talent on this Sixers squad that with any combination of guys staying healthy, they should be accumulating some wins. Now the lack of depth at the forward position is certainly an issue, as is the health situation of the team’s two highly-paid players in their 30s, so I won’t go too much above .500. But they should be competitive most nights, and I think it will be the inverse of last season, when they are the ones taking care of tanking teams as part of a playoff push rather than the opposite
Bryan Toporek: Given the uncertainty surrounding Joel Embiid and Paul George, I think that’s a fair number. If all breaks right for the Sixers this year, 50-plus wins is very much within their range of outcomes. But as we saw last year, a campaign in the mid-20s is also possible if disaster strikes again. The addition of VJ Edgecombe and a full season of Quentin Grimes should insulate them from the worst-case scenarios even if Embiid and George can’t stay healthy, so I’m going to cautiously lean toward a slight over here. Let’s say 44-38.
Drew Peltzman: I would not change that win total from 42.5. I strongly believe the Sixers will be fighting for the 5th or 6th seed in a weak Eastern Conference and better regular season approach will keep them competitive in games against stronger teams. I see them getting to 42 wins barring catastrophe, and closer to 50 wins with some good luck and health.
Erin Grugan: It’s where I’d place it if I was a sportsbook, honestly, because there’s just too many variables to really know much more than that. Last year was an absolute catastrophe and they still had 24 wins with more than a few close losses that could have seen them go closer to 30 wins. I think they are set up this season so that, even if Embiid and George couldn’t play at all, they still would be able to compete a little more than last season.
Tom West: I’m going to be slightly optimistic here and go a hair over 42.5 at 43 wins. It’s so hard to predict when Embiid’s health is such a huge swing factor and unknown, and we can’t exactly expect George to be available all the time either. If both can be active for even close to half the season, though, the Sixers hitting 43 wins should be within reach. I also have plenty of faith in Tyrese Maxey to be at his best again, continued growth and impact from a healthier Jared McCain, and Edgecombe to make enough difference to raise that win total around the .500 mark.
Harrison Grimm: The Sixers, by all accounts, might be the toughest team to predict — which makes sense given their win total sitting right around .500. There’s a version of the season where they easily surpass that mark, and another, just as realistic, where the wheels fall off (again) and they come up short.
As for what I actually think will happen, I’d take the slight over — I’m probably around the 45-win mark. The Sixers were horrendous for most of last season and still managed 28 wins. I’m assuming they won’t be that bad this year, especially with Maxey and real talent in the mix. To hit 45 wins, they’d need 17 more than last year — which, in my eyes, feels like a pretty achievable jump. Especially if Edgecombe looks like a top-three pick this season.
Even Paul George and Joel Embiid have tempered expectations for their availability, best guess, how often do we see them on the court this year?
SK: For some inexplicable reason, I’m somewhat optimistic about George’s chances to play around 55 games this season. Joel, I’ll be happy if he plays about the half the games. Anything more than that feels greedy, and I expect every game day morning will be a ‘How does his body feel today?’ situation.
BT: To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Sixers are being vague about whether Embiid or George will be ready for opening night. Embiid seems closer than George, although it wouldn’t shock me if both are available fairly early in the season. Embiid admitted that his body would be unpredictable at times this year, which he’s made peace with. I’d guess we get at least 45-50 games out of both guys this year. Anything beyond that is gravy.
DP: With Embiid’s strong training camp, I’m optimistic that he will play at least half the season at 41 games. George will play 50 games, with the caveat it could be significantly less than that if it becomes another lost season like last year.
EG: I can’t even to begin to make that sort of prediction after the last few years of this team.
TW: *Shrugs shoulders and begins typing…* It’s impossible to know, but I could see George hitting around 50-55 games, while Embiid playing around 40 is hopefully doable.
HG: That’s the million-dollar question. Embiid feels like the biggest dart throw between the two. As things stand, it seems like his health is trending in the right direction — but it’s almost a given he’ll miss time at some point. For Embiid, I think a reasonable estimate is around 40 games, or roughly half the regular season. Whether that’s due to setbacks or routine maintenance, that feels like a realistic number.
I’m cautiously more optimistic about George. While he’s struggled with availability in recent years, he’s still managed to play a solid number of games pretty consistently. Even last season, when he was never truly healthy, he still appeared in about half the schedule. With this roster in particular, the Sixers shouldn’t need to lean on him as heavily for creation, which gives me confidence he can stay on the floor more. To put a number on it, I’d say he plays around 60 games this season.
What would you like to see from them when we do get to?
SK: George, I’d like to see stretches where he looks like what we saw from him last January. It doesn’t have to be every game, but on nights when he feels like the team needs it, he can still summon that level of play. Embiid I want to see a more measured, dialed-back version of himself. Stop diving around and crashing into everybody. Make a ton of jumpers from the nail, hit open cutters, and alter shots in the paint by virtue of his sheer size. Even 85 percent of Joel Embiid is still one of the best players in the world; that’s all the Sixers need.
BT: I want to see both Embiid and George take a step back this season. They don’t need to shoulder the load on offense like they did earlier in their careers. The Sixers’ young backcourt can help reduce their burden, allowing them to limit their wear and tear and conserve more of their energy for defense. I don’t want to see the offense running through Embiid on every possession, even though he commands so much defensive attention whenever he touches the ball. Beyond that, I’d like to see some positive regression for George’s shooting percentages and Embiid to focus more on role-player things—setting solid screens, boxing out for rebounds, etc.
DP: Flow in the offense. I do not need to see either of them put up prolific stat sheets, I want to see them finding every area they can to help the young core succeed with them on the court. I believe the Embiid-centric model of offense is no longer sustainable for a full season, and he will have to find a way to mesh his post-dominance with a fast paced, guard heavy rotation. A prioritization for Embiid on the defensive end, with less of a burden on offense could do wonders for the team’s future outlook. Using his post shot creation as a last resort in a late shot-clock to catch the defense off guard could create better looks for him then consistently seeing double teams when the offense runs through him. By all means, if we see MVP Embiid, then let him cook, but I would like to see less pressure on him offensively, so it does not look like he is clashing with the offense the rest of the team is trying to run.
For George, I would like to see him healthy, and also playing in the flow of a faster offense. I would like to see him be the best role player in the league, acting as a composed foil to the speed of Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr, and Edgecombe. George should operate almost as a super-cog in the offense, yet when needed, can tap into his bag. To sum it up, I would like to see the iso-creation from both guys take a step back for a more cohesive offense for all 82 games.
EG: Regardless of the amount of games, I just don’t want to see any Sixer out there when it’s clear they aren’t physically comfortable or healthy enough to play. I’d rather see them sit than attempt to force playing like it seemed was the case previously.
TW: From George, it has to be in-form three-point shooting. His elite, high-volume shooting talent in a variety of settings either on or off the ball was probably the most exciting offensive skill he brought to Philly, and we just didn’t get to see it last year through the missed time and underwhelming 35.8 percent three-point stroke he finished the season with. If he can at least be the PG of pre 2024-25 in that regard, that would be a real boost for the offense and give the Sixers’ young guards another off-ball threat to provide spacing and be a reliable outlet for them.
From Embiid, am I allowed to keep it simple and say good health and mobility? If Embiid is spry enough to utilize his incredible face-up and isolation play, to set up his elite mid-range game and use his powerful drives from the elbows — not to mention provide nimble rim protection at the other end of the floor — we all know how much that can carry this team to a whole new level. The way Embiid moved in preseason against Minnesota was an encouraging first step in his return to play. Hopefully that’s a sign of better things to come… and last.
HG: I’ll start with Embiid, who I actually hope to see less from — strange as that sounds. Let me explain. The Sixers are loaded with guards who can create for themselves and for others. In the past, Embiid has often operated as a one-man wrecking crew with a heavy dose of isolation plays. This season, I’d like to see him do less in that sense — which, in theory, should also reduce wear and tear on his body. Ideally, he leans more into being an offensive hub or connector between the guards and forwards, emphasizing playmaking while anchoring the defense as the last line at the rim.
As for George, it comes down to the fundamentals that made him such a valuable addition in the first place. We saw flashes of success when he handled the ball and set up Maxey for easy looks — I’d love to see more of that. He’ll need to be a willing shooter, both on catch-and-shoot attempts and off the dribble. Defensively, he’ll be crucial — the Sixers will rely on him to guard some of the league’s top forwards. There’s also been some chatter about him playing more at the four, which would make rebounding an important part of his role as well.
Josh Grieb: And that’s all for this section of the roundtable! Don’t worry the staff has plenty more to say about the state of the team so stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!
