National Basketball Association

Are the Philadelphia 76ers heading for a first-round exit?

Published Apr. 8, 2022 6:36 p.m. ET

The Philadelphia 76ers have their championship contender checklist just about complete entering the NBA playoffs.

The Sixers sport a devastating one-two scoring punch, comprised of MVP candidate Joel Embiid and ex-scoring champion James Harden. They also have a bevy of effective role players and 80 games of proven success, as they sit just three games behind first-place Miami in the East.

But according to "First Things First" co-host Chris Broussard, these promising signs will just preempt another bout of postseason disappointment for Sixers fans, as he believes that Philly is destined for another early-round exit.

"The 76ers absolutely could be looking at a first-round exit," Broussard said Friday. "But here's the deal: So what if they get out of the first round? Is anybody picking them over Miami, Boston, Milwaukee or Brooklyn if they meet in the second round?"

The Sixers have been one of the best teams in basketball this season with an impressive 49-31 record, but their recent form has presented a different story.

Philadelphia is just 10-8 in its last 18 games, including blowout losses to Miami and Brooklyn, a three-game losing streak bookended by an embarrassing loss to 23-57 Detroit, and, most alarmingly, two losses to Toronto.

With just two games remaining in the regular season, a surging Raptors team has risen to the 5-seed and is slated to play Philadelphia in the opening round of the playoffs. With a head-to-head advantage this season and a better trajectory than the Sixers in recent weeks, Toronto could pose a stiff test for Harden, Embiid & company.

"I'm likely to pick them [76ers] with some hesitation, some trepidation, over Toronto, if indeed they meet," Broussard said. "But there's a good chance that they lose even if they face Toronto. Toronto is actually 3-1 against the Sixers this year … they do have Philly's number, to some degree."

Broussard pointed to Philadelphia's star power as a slight edge over the Raptors, going beyond the Sixers' big two to highlight players like Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey. However, the team's best backcourt player, Harden, has struggled to maintain his early success in the City of Brotherly Love.

Harden and Embiid took the league by storm after uniting in late February, with the typically sharp-shooting guard scoring 27 and 29 points in his first two games with the team while dishing out double-digit assists in both contests.

The Beard has been less fearsome in recent weeks, a key factor in Philadelphia's mediocre form.

"The Sixers have lost four of their last seven and check out James Harden's numbers," Broussard said. "In these last seven games: 17 points a game. 34% shooting, 31% from 3. I mean, that has to bring down morale in the locker room."

The numbers even look more stark if you toss out Harden's honeymoon phase with the 76ers. Not counting his first four games, the veteran is shooting 36% from the field, 30% from 3-point range. And perhaps most damning, in the last five games, he has as many turnovers as field goals.

Postseason collapses have become a troubling trend for both Philadelphia and their head coach Doc Rivers. Sixers fans have trusted the process to guide them to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they have fallen short in three of the last four postseasons.

Rivers has not reached a conference final since the 2011-12 season despite making the playoffs nine of the 10 seasons since, most recently suffering a disappointing defeat to the fifth-seeded Hawks.

So while Philadelphia certainly has the arsenal to make a deep playoff run, recent history seems to side with Broussard.