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  6. article_body => "<p>Plucking a quote from one of the most despicable characters in 21st century television isn't my customary method of persuasive writing, but \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\"Chaos is a ladder,\" Petyr Baelish said.<\/p>\n<p>The guy has a point. Amid the rubble of the stalled NBA season an opportunity has arisen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>At 39-26, the Sixers have limped to an inauspicious spot as the sixth-best team in the East. Whether the eight games they have left before the playoffs changes their seeding or not, this unanticipated sprint to the NBA title following an abrupt four-month layoff could benefit the Sixers.<\/p>\n<p>Back in March when the season was first put on ice, Sixers fans weren't sure when a&nbsp;nerve impingement in Ben Simmons'&nbsp;lower back would allow him to play again. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/ben-simmons-lebron-james-workout-sixers-2020-nba-return\" target=\"_blank\">very convincing Instagram videos<\/a> and more than four&nbsp;months since his last game has seemingly allowed him to heal and squelched concerns about a lingering injury.<\/p>\n<p>Joel Embiid was nursing a banged-up shoulder which has had the same time to mend. When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/sixers-talk-podcast-alaa-abdelnaby-joins-pod\" target=\"_blank\">Alaa Abdelnaby joined us on the latest Sixers Talk podcast<\/a>, he said he heard Embiid is working out six days a week. So, forget about the quarantine 15 for \u201cThe Process\u201d and the obligatory conditioning conjecture that goes with it.<\/p>\n<p>The Sixers top two players are healthy and conceivably the rest of the roster is as well \u2014&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/sixers-injury-update-zhaire-smith-knee-injury-sixers-disney-world\" target=\"_blank\">save the bedeviled Zhaire Smith<\/a> \u2014&nbsp;all benefitting from the extra healing time the layoff provided. A lack of health is one reason for the team's lack of chemistry this season. It\u2019s a point Tobias Harris acknowledged as a source for the team's struggles and inconsistencies on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/2020-nba-restart-sixers-chemistry-tobias-harris-covid-19-testing-nba\" target=\"_blank\">a recent television appearance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For my money, although it may not seem like much, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/2020-nba-return-ryan-broekhoff-sixers-rotation-disney-world\" target=\"_blank\">grabbing Ryan Broekhoff and throwing him into the mix<\/a> was a sound move as well. He helps to increase the healthy competition for minutes among a bench where playing time will be hard to come by if you don't have a defined role.<\/p>\n<p>The Sixers are expected to be in Orlando and enter the NBA bubble on July 9, with the playoffs wrapping on or before Oct. 13. The marathon that was the NBA campaign is over. Following the coronavirus shutdown, 22 teams are now poised to try to&nbsp;race to the finish of a season which could be the most challenging ever, all things considered.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/sixers-2020-nba-playoffs-disney-world-charles-barkley-joel-embiid-ben-simmons\" target=\"_blank\">Charles Barkley endorsed the Sixers\u2019 talent<\/a> by saying he thinks they have the best two players on the floor, in Simmons and Embiid, against any Eastern Conference foe except Milwaukee. Talent will take them far in this resurrected season, but a test of their minds and wills is likely where the most intense battles will be fought in the months to come.<\/p>\n<p>If this team is really built for the playoffs, as GM Elton Brand proclaimed before an assembled room of players and media before the season, the gauntlet of the NBA bubble will reveal the truth like a soothsayer's decree. Chaos could surely be a ladder for the team who galvanizes quickly in this nouveau world of no fans and neutral sites.<\/p>\n<p>Why can\u2019t the Sixers be that team?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe and rate Sixers Talk:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/id1193293445\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/listen?authuser&amp;u=0#\/ps\/Ilmsv7yqtikw5y7krsss4yritkm\">Google Play<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/06d2501p3gqUOlKramp84G\">Spotify<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/nbc-sports-philadelphia\/zoos-views?refid=stpr\">Stitcher<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/sixers-talk-a-philadelphia-76ers-podcast\">Art19<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCXenWaHGZz4Ey4BObUUIyZQ\">YouTube<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/sixers-talk-a-philadelphia-76ers-podcast\/episodes\/e7dcbbe5-59a5-44cd-988e-28be9aecfa34\/embed\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br><br><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/smart.link\/5bb788a3d5b83?site_id=Web_NBCS_Philly&amp;creative_id=nbcsphi1356&amp;cp_4=www.nbcsports.com&amp;cp_1=washington&amp;cp_2=myteams-nbc-sports&amp;cp_3=nbcsphi1356\">Click here<\/a> to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">More on the Sixers<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/2020-nba-return-ben-simmons-joel-embiid-injury-sixers\">The latest on Simmons, Embiid and how the Sixers plan to use them&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/sixers-brett-brown-nba-coronavirus-walt-disney-world\">Now more than ever, Brown want to see \u2018appropriate fear\u2019 \u2014 and face masks<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/sixers-dancer-yahne-coleman-allegations-racism-bullying\">Sixers will investigate former dance team member\u2019s allegations of bullying, racism<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/sixers-ryan-broekhoff-brett-brown-australian-national-basketball-team\">Brown \u2018shocked\u2019 his pitch worked on new Sixer Broekhoff, who had a lot to weigh&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/76ers\/sixers-injury-update-zhaire-smith-knee-injury-sixers-disney-world\">Zhaire Smith will not join Sixers in Disney World <\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"
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76ers

76ers

Plucking a quote from one of the most despicable characters in 21st century television isn't my customary method of persuasive writing, but …

"Chaos is a ladder," Petyr Baelish said.

The guy has a point. Amid the rubble of the stalled NBA season an opportunity has arisen. 

At 39-26, the Sixers have limped to an inauspicious spot as the sixth-best team in the East. Whether the eight games they have left before the playoffs changes their seeding or not, this unanticipated sprint to the NBA title following an abrupt four-month layoff could benefit the Sixers.

Back in March when the season was first put on ice, Sixers fans weren't sure when a nerve impingement in Ben Simmons' lower back would allow him to play again. Some very convincing Instagram videos and more than four months since his last game has seemingly allowed him to heal and squelched concerns about a lingering injury.

Joel Embiid was nursing a banged-up shoulder which has had the same time to mend. When Alaa Abdelnaby joined us on the latest Sixers Talk podcast, he said he heard Embiid is working out six days a week. So, forget about the quarantine 15 for “The Process” and the obligatory conditioning conjecture that goes with it.

The Sixers top two players are healthy and conceivably the rest of the roster is as well — save the bedeviled Zhaire Smith — all benefitting from the extra healing time the layoff provided. A lack of health is one reason for the team's lack of chemistry this season. It’s a point Tobias Harris acknowledged as a source for the team's struggles and inconsistencies on a recent television appearance.

 

For my money, although it may not seem like much, grabbing Ryan Broekhoff and throwing him into the mix was a sound move as well. He helps to increase the healthy competition for minutes among a bench where playing time will be hard to come by if you don't have a defined role.

The Sixers are expected to be in Orlando and enter the NBA bubble on July 9, with the playoffs wrapping on or before Oct. 13. The marathon that was the NBA campaign is over. Following the coronavirus shutdown, 22 teams are now poised to try to race to the finish of a season which could be the most challenging ever, all things considered. 

Charles Barkley endorsed the Sixers’ talent by saying he thinks they have the best two players on the floor, in Simmons and Embiid, against any Eastern Conference foe except Milwaukee. Talent will take them far in this resurrected season, but a test of their minds and wills is likely where the most intense battles will be fought in the months to come.

If this team is really built for the playoffs, as GM Elton Brand proclaimed before an assembled room of players and media before the season, the gauntlet of the NBA bubble will reveal the truth like a soothsayer's decree. Chaos could surely be a ladder for the team who galvanizes quickly in this nouveau world of no fans and neutral sites.

Why can’t the Sixers be that team?

Subscribe and rate Sixers Talk: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | YouTube



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