2008 Philadelphia 76ers Predictions & Preview
The Philadelphia 76ers finished last season with a 40-42 record and made the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Maurice Cheeks stressed the basics of playing good defense and taking care of the ball and he got the most out of his talent. The players respect him and he has a good nucleus coming back and some solid veterans coming in to provide depth. Keep reading our NBA predictions to find out whether we think this Sixers team will take it to the next level. Check out BetUS where the 76ers are at +375 odds to win the Atlantic Division and +1200 odds to win the Eastern Conference this season.
Andre Miller is one of the best point guards in the NBA and he does it all. Miller is a pure playmaker plain and simple, but the Sixers need someone who can log quality minutes behind him. He is 32 and averaged 36.8 minutes per game last season. Louis Williams will be the guy the Sixers look to fill that role. Williams is a terrific scorer and if he can show the patience and ability to hit the open man, he will greatly improve the point position. Williams made a lot of big shots last season and showed great quickness and the ability to create his own shot.
Andre Iguodala is a matchup problem for a lot of players due to his speed and leaping ability. He is dangerous in the open-court and gets the crowd excited with his dunks. Iguodala may be the most explosive shooting guard in the league. Willie Green had a fine year last season and can score off the dribble. He isn’t afraid of taking the big shot, and showed the consistency last season that the Sixers need out of him. He averaged 12.4 points a game.
Thaddeus Young, a 20 year old out of Georgia Tech shot .539 from the field in 74 games as a rookie, including picking up 22 starts. While Young is young he has a good feel for the game and he doesn’t need the ball to be effective. He can run the floor, hit the boards, and get his shots within the flow of the game, plus he can put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket. Kareem Rush will backup Young here. Rush is a natural guard, but he is 6-6 and 215-pounds. He started 15 games for Indiana last season and has the ability to play well on both ends of the floor. Rush also has good 3-point range.
Elton Brand was brought in as an unrestricted free agent from the Los Angeles Clippers, because the Sixers needed someone who could score and rebound at power forward. Brand is an All-Star caliber player, who can score, rebound, and play solid defense. He is also a guy that can provide veteran leadership to younger forwards. Reggie Evans will come off the bench and continue to do the little things. He does extremely well at getting putbacks, rebounds, and playing defense. Evans is an all out player when he is on the floor and will hustle the entire time so you know what kind of effort you will get.
Samuel Dalembert had a big season last year and was a factor on both ends of the floor. While he has always been a pretty good shot-blocker, Dalembert improved his rebounding and scoring last season. Brand should help Dalembert continue to improve his game. Dalembert has a nice shot along the baseline so his scoring should get better. Rookie Marreese Speights will get some backup minutes as a rookie. He has the ability to play power forward or center.
Final Analysis
The Sixers are an improved team from last season where they won 40 games and made the playoffs. With Andre Miller distributing the ball and running the club with a team-first mindset, the Sixers have all the pieces to be one of the better teams in the league. Elton Brand should take this team to the next level. We have them finishing 2nd in the Atlantic Division and making the playoffs is almost a certainty. This will be a dangerous team to play against in the early round and don’t be surprised if they turn some heads this season. At BetUS the Sixers are at +2500 odds to win an NBA Championship so keep an eye on these guys this season.
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