"Trust the Process" 76ers Franchise- Suggestions/Interaction Appreciated

I seek to do the seemingly impossible: Turn the Philadelphia 76ers into a perennial contender.



The MyLeague I am playing has the following settings:

-82 Game

-Hall Of Fame Difficulty

-82-7-7-7-7 Format

-Official 2K Sports Roster

-CPU CPU Trades on, but with trade approval on (Interaction in the thread will determine whether or not the trade is permitted)

-All other settings Default, besides Trade Override. I have decided to turn Trade Override on not for my own benefit, but so as the deadline and offseason approach and I provide insight on how teams around the league are doing, people in the thread can play GM and suggest trades that would be mutually beneficial for other teams besides my 76ers

I hope as I embark on this journey that you can provide feedback and advice! I am open to suggestions for not only my team, but for others in the MyLeague. If a team is slipping and you notice that around the league, maybe we could come up with a fair CPU CPU trade that would make this experience more interactive and fun.

Now, back to my 76ers:

General Strategy-
So with most people who go into a rebuilding project, they try to make a bang early on and move their assets to bring players back who make an immediate impact. This is not my strategy. I plan to "trust the process", at least for a while. Having never played much with the 76ers I really want to get to know my players before deciding what players to move and what players to build around. Because of that, it is difficult to set goals for my team on the court as well as team-building goals. I am hoping after a few games I will be able to have a better idea of what kind of goals I want to set. In the immediate future, one thing is for sure: I need to find out which one of my 3 Big men is going to be my Franchise Cornerstone.



Above is the rotation that I plan to use to start the season. Since Noel is the most "active" of my bigs, I feel that bringing him off the bench could provide a spark for the second unit early on. I am giving Thompson the nod over Stauskas because I need one knock down shooter in my starting rotation, but I hope to develop Stauskas' shooting to get him into that starting spot soon. Right now, I do not plan on using much of Carl Landry because I really want to develop my young talent, but if things get rough I may turn to the vet off the bench.

Opening night of the season was underway and although my 76ers were off, the Cavs, Pistons, and Warriors started their season out on a strong note picking up wins in their first game.



The 76ers open their season in Boston as they take on the Celtics. The 76ers hope to find success running their offense, a playbook that is unfamiliar to the team (me ). Philadelphia also hopes to use Ish Smith's quickness and vision to find his teammates and get his trio of bigs going early. Lastly, finding a reliable player off the bench is important to make sure that the game stays close when the starters are off the floor. I also would like to focus on the perimeter shooting of Boston. Isaiah Thomas can cause problems if he gets loose, and their bigs in Olynyk and Sullinger can spread the floor. Keying in on shutting down the 3 ball is a main priority If the 76ers can take care of these keys, we should have a close game in Boston.

The young 76ers hoped to avoid pregame jitters as they traveled to Boston to take on the Celtics in a hostile opening night environment. The Celtics trotted out a Starting Lineup of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Jared Sullinger, and Kelly Olynyk. Out of the gate, Boston got out to a quick start after making a few timely 3pt buckets and held a double digit lead midway through the 1st quarter. The 76ers were playing good defense but could not buy a bucket. Hollis Thompson and Robert Covington couldn't get their shot going, and often times the 76ers were finding themselves deep into the shot clock and having to force up a bad shot. When TJ McConnell and Nerlens Noel came in off the bench, the momentum of the game quickly changed. McConnell was attacking the basket ferociously and converted back to back layups. Noel's constant motion gave the 76ers a jolt of energy and he was able to cut to the basket and get some open looks. The Sixers trailed 18-22 after 1.



To start the second quarter the Starters came back in and much of the same issues that plagued the Sixers to start the game continued. Turnovers left and right. It was apparent that the motion offense had yet to be mastered because Philadelphia turned the ball over 5 times in the 2nd Quarter alone. Having given up 9 Turnovers, and 14 points off of Turnovers, the 76ers were fortunate to find themselves only down 8 at the half, 49-41.



That luck ran out in the 3rd quarter as the Celtics beat the pants off of the 76ers out scoring them 29-20 in the 3rd. Much of the same for Philadelphia as turnovers were the primary cause. The defense wasn't as sharp for Philly either, as Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger were having their way with Okafor and Embiid in the post. The Sixers trailed 61-78 entering the 4th.



Even though it was opening night, many Celtics fans headed home early because their win was all but secured early into the 4th quarter. Robert Covington was able to convert on some three pointers in the 4th that was the only bright spot to really talk about. Final Score, Boston 105 Philadelphia 85



Box Score:



Shot Charts:







First Game take away and Future goals:

So after one game I can tell this is going to be a long and difficult journey of turning this team into a contender. The combination of Hall of Fame difficulty and lack of immediate impact players might make this play out just as it has for the Sixers in real life... A struggle. So with that lets set some interim goals.

Goal 1: Achieve a better record than the Sixers have in real life
So far, I have matched the path of the real life 76ers as they lost the opening game 112-95. They have me in deficit, but who cares! The goal is to get more wins than they did!

Goal 2: Hold my opponent to under 100 each game
Obviously I was unable to do so in this game, but the fact that I gave the ball away 22 times and allowed 34 points off of turnovers has me cautiously optimistic that this could happen. It needs to happen in order to secure victories. I am going to have to beat teams by winning games with the score in the 90's

Goal 3: Stop turning over the damn ball!
If I had a dollar for every time Ish Smith dribbled the ball off of someone's foot in the pick and roll! I need to figure out how to use Ish in a way that makes him beneficial to the team, because after one game aside from his speed not much was going well for him!

Goal 4: Use the Bigs in an efficient way
As evident by Jahlil's shot chart, I need to work on getting him open looks. Shooting in this kind of volume can cause bad habits for the youngster and want to get him on the right page early.

These are the 4 main things I would like to focus on over the next week of games or so!

The 76ers take on the Jazz in their second game. The Sixers caught a bit of a break in that regard as the Jazz find themselves shorthanded. Rudy Gobert suffered an injury that will cause him to miss the game. Hoping the 76ers get great support back home for their opener. The 76ers are hoping for a great turnout from their fans!




News from around the Association:

Memphis tops Cleveland to improve to 1-0 ans the Cavs drop to 1-1
Raptors are victorious over the Pacers (0-2)
Lakers lose their opener to the T-Wolves
Nuggets surprise Houston to take their opener

Definitely have your work cut out for you! Taking over rebuilding teams can be frustrating, especially if you're playing the games, but also a fun challenge. Do you think you'll end up simulating at all?

Definitely have your work cut out for you! Taking over rebuilding teams can be frustrating, especially if you're playing the games, but also a fun challenge. Do you think you'll end up simulating at all?

It will definitely be difficult. Hall of Fame makes it even harder! I am currently planning to play all of the games but I will have to see as we continue on. 82 games on 12 minute quarters could definitely be a daunting task, but I am having a lot of fun so far

That's the important thing. I have to admit, I don't think I've ever played a full season where I've missed the Playoffs, which is obviously a realistic possibility when you're on Hall of Fame difficulty, playing with a team like the 76ers. I have to say, I admire your patience!