Parker Cane and Lear Asplundh
Staff Writers
Trust the process? Yes, trust it. The 76ers
are an up and coming young NBA teams and are in line for a very bright future
ahead. The starting five for the sixers are Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, JJ
Redick, Wilson Chandler, and Joel Embiid. So far, the Philadelphia 76ers are
11-7 in the Eastern Conference, while the Toronto Raptors are in first with a
13-4 record.
JJ Redick was on a one-year
deal last season and is returning. Redick adds three-point shooting to a team
that needs it and his veteran presence also helps. After a tough lost to the
Milwaukee Bucks, Redick said “I think we — you can't assume anything in this
league, and I think maybe we assumed we would just pick up where we left off,
or there would be more carryover from last year. But players get better, teams
get better, the league evolves, and I think if we've learned anything these
first five games, it's that we have some improvement to make, I'm confident in
our group and our coaching staff that we'll do that. It's not our best
five-game stretch by any means”.
Markelle Fultz, the number one overall pick in
2017, has high hopes after training with shooting coach Drew Hanlen over the
summer. So far, he's been average shooting 31% from three but provides an
athletic floor spacer to the team. Embiid is off to a fantastic start this
season, and there are two keys to that: defense and free-throw rate. Embiid has
been an absolute machine generating attempts at the free throw line early this
season and being able to knock down jumpers. Rookie first round pick Landry
Shamet has provided a spark off the bench. Coming into the NBA from Wichita
State, Shamet was an efficient three-point shooter above 43 percent. He has
provided what the organization drafted him for, shooting. Between Shamet and
Redick, the 76ers have knockdown shooters to compliment stars Joel Embiid and
Ben Simmons.
The 76ers have high
hopes coming into the season, looking to win a fourth title. This will be
difficult when the team has to go up against Boston or Toronto. The Celtics get
Gordon Hayward back making them even more dominant in the Eastern Conference.
For the Raptors, the addition of all-star Kawhi Leonard makes the Sixers road
to the finals even more difficult. Monday, Nov. 12 the 76ers traded Dario Saric
and Robert Covington to the Minnesota Timberwolves for all-star shooting guard
Jimmy Butler. Philadelphia desperately gets the third star they hoped Markelle
Fultz would become. Although the 76ers lost key shooting in Covington and
Saric, the defensive presence and being able to create shots outweighs the loss
of shooting. The Sixers will look to have a winning record this season and
hopefully no injuries will happen to affect this young team's future.
