Kern: Go ahead and get carried away with the Sixers

Playoffs? Did somebody actually say playoffs?

So should I hop directly on the bus or start looking for some brakes to pump?

Sure it's great that Joel Embiid is playing like the stud we thought he could become, after sitting out two years. And that the team is showing signs of life around him, even if it doesn't know what to do about the Nerlins Noel/Jahlil Okafor conundrum. Details. And it's great that Ben Simmons, who's being projected as the second cornerstone in this equation, could finally be suiting up soon, too.

But playoffs? Hey, I get it. But maybe it could be a case of premature anticipation.

I'm not trying to ruin anyone's good time, because even though it's still a longshot it would hardly be the most impossible scenario that's ever unfolded. There are plenty of mediocre teams in the NBA, especially in the East. Right now, the Sixers have the third-worst record in the conference, despite their recent roll. Four teams — Orlando, New York, Detroit and Charlotte — stand between them and the eighth-place Bulls for the last postseason spot. The Sixers' schedule is about to get harder, and there are those back-to-backs without Embiid in one of them to deal with.

When you've been wandering in the wilderness for so long, the tendency is to get carried away at the first hint of a corner turn. Truth is, this team remains a long way from being the kind of factor you want it to be. And that's assuming a bunch more things go right moving forward.

But Embiid looks like a difference-making fixture, which is kind of like the Eagles at least having their quarterback to build around. It'll be interesting to see which one can fulfill the expectations more in the coming decade. Now that's hope.

Meanwhile, if the Sixers can indeed make a run at not being in the lottery for a change, then by all means go for it. Just don't count on it, although the best thing they might have going for them is that when other teams at some point stop caring/trying, the Sixers figure to play this thing out for all it's worth right to the end. And that can never be a bad sign, whatever it translates to in the standings.

In their plan, this season was never about the playoffs. Embiid has changed that. Simmons could change it even more. And if it costs you a higher draft pick, well that's the price you pay. They still should get one or potentially two lottery choices, depending upon how those ping-pong balls bounce out, in what's being touted as a guard-heavy draft. Which is good, since they need backcourt/perimeter help. And one or both could still be high ones.

They'll either get their pick, or they can swap spots with Sacramento, which is currently 10th in the West. Plus they get the Lakers' slot if it's not in the top three. So they could end up with more keeper pieces. Just remember there are no guarantees. For every hit there's a miss. You can look it up.

Yet if the Sixers somehow sneak in and are playing the Cavaliers in the first round, well, it might take your mind off the future for a while. Which would be about time. And ahead of schedule.

Dream a little. Bring on LeBron. So what if the last time a Philly team won a playoff series was in 2012. Details.