3 New Year’s resolutions for Sixers: Solve the Ben Simmons situation
It is a brand new year in the NBA and for the Philadelphia 76ers–just like everybody else–there are some New Year’s resolutions for them to fulfill and go after.
The Sixers enter the 2022 portion of their schedule sitting at 19-16 and at the No. 6 seed in the East. They are just half a game ahead of the Charlotte Hornets to avoid the play-in tournament for the playoffs.
Of course, they have dealt with a ton of adversity. Namely, the ongoing Ben Simmons saga that is now seeping into the new year as he is still on their roster. The Sixers have got to figure out that situation and put the right piece next to Joel Embiid in order to properly contend for an NBA title.
Along with the Simmons issue, there are some other things they can do to improve in 2022. Here are three resolutions for Philadelphia to fulfill in 2022:
Solve the Simmons situation
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The Sixers have to figure out what to do with Simmons. While the franchise has maintained that they want to keep him and they will only move him if they get a top 25 player in return, they have to decide quickly in order to put the right piece next to Embiid.
There could be movement around the Feb. 10 trade deadline for Simmons, but they owe it to Embiid to help him win a title. There are options out there and president Daryl Morey has to decide whether to just punt the season and try to go after James Harden in the offseason or settle for a little less than what he is asking for.
Grow the Maxey-Embiid partnership
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There was a lot of good coming out of Thursday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets for the Sixers and the biggest development was the pairing of Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The young point guard out of Kentucky did a really solid job of running the pick-and-roll with the big fella and he knocked down five triples in the win.
That pairing is going to make or break Philadelphia’s success over the next few weeks and it may influence who they go after at the deadline in a Simmons deal. If the pairing can grow, maybe Morey goes after a wing player who can score and help with rebounding. If it doesn’t, then Morey will maybe go after an aggressive scorer from the perimeter. There is a lot to watch for in January for the Sixers.
Shoot more triples
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At the moment, the Sixers are 27th in the league in 3-point attempts at 31.5 per game while being 14th in percentage at 35.1%. The 3-point attempts have got to go up around Embiid. Guys like Seth Curry, Maxey, Tobias Harris, Danny Green, and Furkan Korkmaz have got to fire up the open triples Embiid creates for them. Maxey did so in Brooklyn and it has to continue.
Too often to begin the season, the Sixers have turned down so many open looks from deep in order to take tougher shots from the midrange while they’re contested. Philadelphia has to fire away from deep and take advantage of those shots in order to get the job done.
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