This Sixers playoff run has a different feel — and that starts with Joel Embiid

But the Sixers can also thank a long list of developments, including James Harden embracing his role, P.J. Tucker bringing toughness, and Tyrese Maxey taking yet another step toward stardom.

Sixers center Joel Embiid has taken his game to another level. Will it be enough to lead the Sixers to the conference finals for the first time since 2001?Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Apr. 11, 2023, 8:46 a.m. ET

Forget about the NBA championship for now.

In the likely case in which the 76ers defeat the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, will they even reach the Eastern Conference finals?

There’s a chance they could avoid a nightmare second-round matchup if the Boston Celtics fall to a yet-to-be-determined first-round opponent. However, the more likely outcome has them in line to face a Boston squad that they have struggled mightily against in recent years. Then there’s the elephant in the room: the Sixers are 1-12 since 1986 in second-round playoff series.

Much was made about the Sixers hiring Doc Rivers as head coach and Daryl Morey as president of basketball operations before the 2020-21 season. They were brought in after the Sixers were swept by the Celtics in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. Under their leadership, the team has achieved regular-season success and garnered plenty of hype but has yet to advance past the second round.

This season has a different feel, though. It might be because Joel Embiid’s game has elevated to another level.

It could also have something to do with James Harden excelling in his role as a facilitator and the growth of Tyrese Maxey and Paul Reed. And it just might be a result of the acquisitions of P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, Jalen McDaniels, Danuel House Jr., Montrezl Harrell, and Dewayne Dedmon, who have proved the veteran depth and versatility the Sixers lacked in past seasons.

“I’m super excited,” Reed said of the postseason. “I feel like this year is going to be a much better year for us as a team to excel because we have much better team chemistry and team dynamic now. I feel like we can really make it to the Finals.”

The Sixers, however, lack the depth of the Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, who finished with the top two records in the NBA.

Boston and Milwaukee each possess a sixth man of the year candidate in Malcolm Brogdon and Bobby Portis. The Bucks and Celtics also boast several reserves who would start on other teams.

The Sixers’ best attribute has been their relentlessness.

They’ve had a knack for storming back from double-digit deficits to win games. At times, it appears as if the possibility of losing isn’t a reality for the Sixers no matter how badly they get down in a game.

Even when trailing by 20 points, they don’t panic. That much is evident during timeouts, when the Sixers keep reiterating for everyone to hang in there because they’re going to win.

That type of confidence and resiliency wasn’t present in seasons past. In years gone by, players would start playing hero ball or start packing it in when faced with challenging situations. And those Sixers teams didn’t have the physical toughness of this season’s squad.

Tucker, House, Harrell, Melton, and Dedmon refuse to back down from anyone, while last season’s squad was labeled as soft.

But, to circle back to the original assertion, Embiid’s emergence as the league’s most unstoppable player is the primary reason why this postseason has a different feel.

The presumptive MVP averaged a career-high 33.1 points per game to win his second consecutive scoring title. He tied for seventh in the league in rebounding (10.2) and also finished seventh in blocks (1.7).

“But to me, the scoring is amazing,” Rivers said. “Where he is scoring now [at the nail] compared to where he scored two years ago [in the paint] is what stands out to me. That took a lot of work, and then his passing. And he’s always been a good defender, but he’s turned into a great defender. And in the fourth quarters, he’s become a dominant defender. So his growth has been amazing.”

The Sixers are still expected to have a rough road ahead of them.

They’ll face a pesky and youthful Nets team with nothing to lose in the first round before an expected second-round matchup with Boston.

Embiid needed to score 52 points for the Sixers to beat an undermanned Celtics squad in the Sixers’ lone victory in the four-game regular-season series between the teams. But his ability to take over games, Harden’s ascension as the league’s top playmaker, and the addition of several gritty players bring a different feel to this postseason.