August 29, 2017
Over the last two seasons, the Sixers have won a combined 38 games.
But there's reason for hope moving forward with the return of Joel Embiid, whose already delayed rookie season was cut short by injury, and the highly anticipated debuts of Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, the top picks in each of the last two NBA Drafts. Not to mention the addition of free agent sharpshooter J.J Redick or the fact that Dario Saric actually came over and now has a year of NBA experience under his belt.
Just ask the fans about the excitement level – they've already sold out all 14,000 season ticket packages at the Wells Fargo Center for 2017-18 and now have a waitlist.
So what is a realistic expectation for the Sixers entering Brett Brown's fifth season at the helm? We've already seen their odds at winning the NBA title this year skyrocket over what it was during The Process's darkest years. But let's be honest, they're not beating the Celtics or Cavs in a seven-game series, let alone the defending-champion Warriors.
That being said, there's every reason to believe the Sixers can make the postseason, especially in a weakened Eastern Conference that's a total crapshoot after the first two teams. And Vegas oddsmakers seem to be on board.
On Tuesday, we got a look at some projected win totals, and the Sixers' over/under is set at 42.5 wins for the upcoming season. For those keeping track at home, that's more than four wins better than their previous two seasons ... combined.
According to Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook manager Jeff Sherman, who first tweeted out the win totals, the Sixers are tied with the Hornets for the sixth-highest projected win total in the Eastern Conference and in a three-way tie for 14th in the entire NBA.
| EAST | ODDS |
| BOS | 56.5 |
| CLE | 53.5 |
| TOR | 48.5 |
| WAS | 47.5 |
| MIL | 47.5 |
| MIA | 43.5 |
| PHI | 42.5 |
| CHA | 42.5 |
| DET | 38.5 |
| ORL | 33.5 |
| IND | 31.5 |
| NYK | 30.5 |
| BKN | 28.5 |
| ATL | 25.5 |
| CHI | 21.5 |
| - - - - - - - - | - - - - - - - - |
| WEST | ODDS |
| GSW | 67.5 |
| HOU | 55.5 |
| SAS | 54.5 |
| OKC | 51.5 |
| MIN | 48.5 |
| DEN | 45.5 |
| LAC | 43.5 |
| POR | 42.5 |
| UTA | 40.5 |
| NOR | 39.5 |
| MEM | 37.5 |
| DAL | 35.5 |
| LAL | 33.5 |
| PHX | 28.5 |
| SAC | 28.5 |
After spending each of the last four seasons as one of the worst three or four teams in the entire NBA – their win total a year ago opened at just 24.5, per ESPN – that would be quite a jump to make in one year.
As for their championship odds, Westgate currently has them at 60/1 to win it all, up from 100-1 when they first opened back in late May.
The updates odds from @LVSuperBook on the #NBA Championship - join https://t.co/DDbDGlSLxv today for daily picks from our Vegas insiders! pic.twitter.com/7CGZ2do6Py
— SportsLine (@SportsLine) August 29, 2017
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