Sixers generating plenty of optimism ahead of NBA restart, but is it warranted?

For a team that is currently the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, the 76ers are receiving a lot of positive buzz as the NBA season prepares for its restart.

The Sixers began practicing July 11 at Walt Disney World near Orlando. After three scrimmages, they will play the first of their eight “seed” games on Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers.

There has certainly been a confidence among the team and coach Brett Brown, but in addition, national media have also picked up on the Sixers. Several well-respected pundits including ESPN’s Zach Lowe, have given the Sixers much more than a puncher’s chance of making a legitimate run in the Eastern Conference.

The Sixers’ lack of chemistry created a disappointing 39-26 record when the season was halted on March 11 due to the coronavirus. So what happened to make the Sixers have a higher profile?

For one, the team is healthy.

Ben Simmons missed the last eight games leading up to the break with a pinched nerve in his lower back. He said before departing for Florida that he is feeling better than when he started the season.

Three-time All-Star center Joel Embiid, who played the final game before the break after missing five with a left shoulder sprain, is also in good health.

Al Horford, 34, admitted he was less than 100% healthy by the time the season was suspended. He said he is now fine.

Tobias Harris, who has played all 65 games, was banged up even though he didn’t miss a game.

The other thing that seems to have rejuvenated the team is having Shake Milton, who was lights-out in replacing Simmons at point guard in the starting lineup from the beginning of camp last week. Simmons is playing the power forward position and “all over the court,” according to Brown.

This would move Horford to the bench.

While Simmons will still be handling the ball a lot, moving him closer to the basket and taking advantage of his post-up ability seems a better way to utilize a 6-foot-10 gazelle who is reluctant to shoot from 10 feet or beyond.

Embiid has said he feels he can “carry the team.”

Deep down, the Sixers know they have underachieved, but there seems to be the sense that better days are ahead.

Before Saturday’s practice, Brown was asked during the media call if with the team’s improved health, does he feel any differently about the Sixers now compared to when play stopped.

“I am quietly confident and I feel that the work that our guys have put in and maybe more importantly the spirit of how they’ve gone about that work reinforces my quiet confidence for me in a pronounced way, albeit very early on,” Brown said.

That said, the other five Eastern Conference teams currently ahead of the Sixers probably are also exuding the same confidence.

Brown said on Saturday he has yet to pair Embiid and Horford since the team has started practice in Florida. At this point, Brown says he doesn’t know how many minutes Horford will play.

Brown’s biggest challenge will be determining his rotation.

He did say that the Sixers’ 110-103 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 11, the game before the All-Star break, is a good reference point to what the rotation could look like.

In that game, the starters were Simmons, Embiid, Harris, Josh Richardson, and Furkan Korkmaz. (You can now replace Korkmaz with Milton.)

Horford still came off the bench and played 28 minutes against the Clippers and Milton wasn’t a factor, playing only one late-game minute, so there is only so much to take from that game.

While there is optimism moving forward, the Sixers still have questions, including whether Embiid, Horford, and Simmons can jell. There will still be times when all three are on the court together, likely closing out games. (Horford played 8 minutes and 40 seconds of the fourth quarter in the Clippers game).

According to basketball-reference.com, the three-man combination of Embiid, Horford, and Simmons has been outscored this season by 1 point per 100 possessions.

While the Sixers have shown great confidence in Milton, it’s unrealistic for him to shoot 60.4% from three-point range, his accuracy in the last nine games before the stoppage.

The Sixers currently stand 26th in bench scoring (31.4 ppg.), so if Horford remains a reserve, he will have to help upgrade the second unit’s scoring potential.

Three-point shooting remains a concern. The Sixers are 14th in the NBA (36.2%). Milton and Korkmaz, the Sixers’ top two three-point shooters likely won’t have as free a rein.

The Sixers hope to sort out these questions in the next few weeks and attempt to justify the positive vibe surrounding the team.