Of the eight teams that qualified for the SoFi NBA play-in tournament, and of the two teams that have survived the play-in tournament so far to make it to the NBA playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers are likely the most intriguing. When healthy, they have one of the league’s most talented rosters, but of course, consistently good health has always seemed to elude them.
During the regular season, Paul George missed 45 games, Kelly Oubre Jr. missed 32 games and former league MVP Joel Embiid only appeared in 38 games. As a result, the 76ers won a relatively modest 45 games and played inconsistent basketball all season long.
On a recent episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James compared the Sixers to Two-Face, the alter ego of Harvey Dent, the former district attorney of Gotham City and an enemy in the Batman comic book universe.
“You look at what Paul George can do on a basketball floor–three-level scorer–paint, mid-range, threes, defend,” James said. “Obviously, Joel Embiid, MVP-caliber type of player anytime he’s healthy and on the floor.
“Tyrese Maxey, he could very well easily be a first-team All-NBA guy on any given year the way he’s been playing. And a young talent [VJ Edgecombe], who will be maybe First-Team All-Rookie? Then vets, you know, Kelly Oubre, a vet, and some of those guys are playing good ball.”
“I give them kind of like the Harvey Dent, Two-Face vibe. Which one are we going to get? When they’re rolling, when Embiid is playing, he’s in the mid-range, he’s on the low block, he’s motivated. Maxey is burning down the highway, playing on the Autobahn, shooting the step back threes, getting into the lane. PG, silky smooth. They have the ability to put up 140 on you in any given night, 145, and you get them to buy in defensively? They can make headlines as well.”
The 76ers will face the Boston Celtics, a team many consider the favorite to reach the NBA Finals, in the first round of the playoffs. The Celtics open as big favorites to win this series, but a healthy, focused and cohesive 76ers team could make things very interesting.
At the very least, Philly could make Jayson Tatum and crew endure a rough beating on the way to the Eastern Conference semifinals and a potential rematch with the New York Knicks, the team that knocked them out of the second round last year.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James compares 76ers to Batman comic book villain
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
