Despite the 0-12 start for Sixers this season, the future is bright for Philly fans with the big Jahlil Okafor having a tremendous start.
Big Jah, as many fans call him, is averaging 19 points per game thus far, while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. Also being the first rookie in 13 years to score 26 points on his rookie debut.
Zack Bergman, 19, Richboro states, “We suck, but Okafor is solid”. Hard to find positives with the team this year, but it’s hard not to be excited about a guy like Jahlil.
Again averaging 19 points, nearly 8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game, Okafor is on pace to win the rookie of the year award with his incredible start. Therefore there are some upsides to the season.
Alongside of Okafor, Nerlens Noel is having a great season as well, averaging 10 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block and 1.6 steals.
Aside from our recent poor play in the previous seasons, we are starting to really get the ball rolling with the rebuilding process. With the potential of our core guys like Okafor, Noel and Covington we have a bright future ahead of us.
The issue at hand is the transition from rebuilding to becoming a league powerhouse, we need to start filling in the missing pieces to the puzzle.
When asked about what the Sixers are missing from the team, Bryan Kaelin, 19, Warminster, says “They need a superstar, a big name point guard, someone to use all this cap space on.” This is a popular belief, many fans seem to think the answer to our problems is in the off-season free agent signings.
It seems to be a Philadelphia trend to have the “there’s always next season” mentality. fans always appear to be excited for the upcoming season, but things don’t pan out and we do the same thing and look at the next season again.
Despite all this, next season looks to be on the up-and-up. Dario Saric and Joel Embiid are said to be playing for the team by next season. Along with the big upcoming free agency this could be a promising off-season for Philly.
Additionally to a lack of a point guard, this upcoming free agency may not be the best year for the Seventy-Sixers. Especially being that there are few available guards for us next year. Nevertheless, the amount of cap space we have definitely makes Philly an appealing market.
Joel Embiid has become a controversial topic in the recent past; his diet has been a big issue lately. Sixers fans are all too familiar with injured big men not being dedicated (Andrew Bynum). Hence why fans are quick to think the worst here in Philadelphia, but of course they have good reason for doing so.
If there are any out there, keep your heads up Sixers fans. We’ll get through these tough times, the future is bright.