John Hollinger of the Athletic picks the Sixers to win the NBA title and Embiid to win MVP (Paywall)

[https://theathletic.com/3642846/2022/10/05/philadelphia-76ers-preview-predictions/](https://theathletic.com/3642846/2022/10/05/philadelphia-76ers-preview-predictions/)

Some excerpts:

>Nonetheless, for all the talk about the strength of the East, I actually think this is a great moment for the Sixers to break through. There are many very good teams in this conference but not a single dominant one. Embiid is one of the two best players in the East; only [Giannis Antetokounmpo](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/giannis-antetokounmpo-FV8e23LS5qDkPy4W/) rivals him in this conference.
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>Harden might have a bounce-back year in him and will surely have better help this time around. The addition of Tucker, Melton and House means the Sixers can grind out ugly wins even if Harden isn’t rolling; surely they won’t get punked on the glass like they were against the Heat. Melton, in particular, is one of the league’s most underrated players and is on a great contract; squeezing him into Green’s salary slot was a master stroke.

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>Behind Embiid, they’ll have one of the league’s elite pick-and-roll weapons, a third scorer just coming into his own in Maxey, and multiple versions of the switchable, 3-and-D role players who every playoff run requires and last season’s team lacked. We’ve barely mentioned Harris, an overpaid but good player who averaged 17 points on 56 percent true shooting last season in an “off” year.
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>I’m not sure this team will have the best record in the East in the regular season, not with Embiid playing 65-ish games and Harden putting it into cruise control on random January nights in Detroit. But the improved depth should be a big factor in managing the odometer on Harden and Embiid; Philly should finish in the top-three seeds without putting too much strain on its key players. Get them to a postseason series healthy, and I like how they match up against the Bucks, Celtics and [Nets](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/nets/).
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>So here goes: I’m picking Philly to win it all, and Embiid to win MVP. Check back in nine months for a good laugh.

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Also, dose of reality:

>Of course, you can flip that analysis on its head too: If the Sixers aren’t going to break though this season, it’s hard to be optimistic about any year beyond this. Harden, Tucker, Embiid and [Tobias Harris](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/tobias-harris-UpRf034bQRbHK4vT/) getting older, plus the twin weights of the luxury tax and lack of draft picks, will likely tow this team back closer to .500 in future seasons. There is *some* youth here, but the aforementioned drags more than offsets any upticks from the Maxey-Melton-Milton-Thybulle-Reed contingent.
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>This, then, is the put-up-or-shut-up year for The Process, in all likelihood the best chance this group will ever have to put up a banner in their dump of an arena (hey, don’t shoot the messenger). If they don’t come reasonably close, there probably will be some uncomfortable discussions next summer.

by sfchin98