No one wants to face the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Makes no sense, right? They have a rookie point guard who cannot shoot. Their starting center is talented but has never played in the playoffs and is currently out with an orbital fracture. Two years ago, they were perhaps the worst team in modern NBA history, and they are coached by the same man who they had then, a coach with zero playoff experience. 

It gets worse. 

Only their starting shooting guard has been a key player on a playoff team that has won a playoff series. Their backup center, now starting, is a career seven-and-five guy who is not much of a shot-blocking threat. And they have improved by so much in such a short time that everyone would understand if they celebrated a 50-win season before the postseason began, then coasted in round one, considering in the previous three seasons combined they won just 56 games. 

The Sacramento Kings won 91 times in that same span. 

Can this group, likely headed to a three seed in the East, suddenly and collectively go from a great underdog, “worst to almost first” story to a grind-it-out playoff team that is capable of knocking off any opponent it faces? The short is, as of today, yes.

Everything mentioned above is true. 

This team has such little playoff experience that if indeed it pulled off a series win, certainly two of them, we’d no longer be able to cite “playoff experience” as a real strength of a team in the postseason. The 76ers, though, are not a typical team—experienced or not. 

Their young talent is at the top of any list. Ben Simmons, if he could shoot, would be a leading MVP candidate in every season of the first decade of his career. Absent that perimeter shot, he is still one of the most elite and dynamic players with the ball in the world. 

Joel Embiid is only “likely” back for round one of the playoffs with that facial injury. The Sixers are winning right now without him, but we can’t ignore he is a generational talent who can dominate a game in all three phases. In fact, as we might soon see, he has the ability to dominate an entire series in scoring, defense, and rebounding. 

Philly’s team is built around these two mega-talented young men, the treasure from “the process” of former GM Sam Hinkie, who hoped losing so many games would reap top-level talent to carry the franchise forward. Philadelphia isn’t a dangerous team just because of its two young superstars. This is a group that learned how to play fast the hard way, losing game after game while studying the style. They grew into an elite defensive team thanks to three elite-level defenders and a system the others know how to play in. 

Simmons and Embiid are likely Defensive Player of the Year candidates for years to come, with Embiid likely to get some votes for that award this year. Wing Robert Covington has slowly grown into the prototypical 3-and-D guy—a 37 percent deep shooter who will make 200 or more while being one of the top defenders at his position in the NBA.

Simmons and Covington are long and tall men who are extremely quick—ranking eighth and ninth in the NBA in steals per game, respectively—but also enabling Philly to be among the top teams at running teams off the 3-point line. 

Embiid is the Sixers' rim protector, but all three men have a hand in making Philadelphia one of the toughest teams to shoot a good percentage against overall. The 76ers contest shots inside the line very well. Embiid’s rim presence allows them to contest extra close, and they are less afraid to give up “blow-bys” knowing one of the top rim protectors in basketball lurks behind them. 

As teams create new actions on offense designed to get open 3s, it’s helpful to Philly’s defense knowing, no matter what, it just needs to stay connected to those shooters and let them try to score on Embiid inside.

What’s interesting about the Sixers looking forward a week is how they are getting more comfortable with Amir Johnson in at center now, a necessary thing considering how teams in the playoffs might look to get Embiid isolated against small guards on the perimeter who will go at him with speed and change of direction. 

Embiid will get his share of blocks and contests but also fouls and fatigue will factor in. Opponents won’t just let him sit in the paint. Or if he does, and just hangs off them on switches and invites smaller ball handlers to shoot 3-point shots, teams will react to that. First-round matchups with either Milwaukee, Miami, or Indiana means those guards will be Eric Bledsoe, Victor Oladipo, or Goran Dragic, all entirely capable of driving at Embiid starting at the perimeter or pulling 3s over him as he backs off. 

Enter Johnson, the veteran who has had an excellent defensive season and is still fluid and agile enough to press up on smaller men without fouling. In fact, Philly’s best defensive lineup this season, allowing just 89.5 points per 100 possessions, has Johnson at the center spot. That second defensive center gives the Sixers added flexibility to deal with the new actions their opponents will throw at them, especially those designed to put Embiid at risk for fouls.

Much has been written about Simmons’ ability to create: He has such artistry as a passer and pace pusher. He deserves all of it. Embiid, too, has earned all the praise sent his way as a truly gifted offensive talent. But what makes Philadelphia a scary playoff opponent is what those young guys can do, as part of its entire look, defensively. 

The Sixers will likely finish the season as the third-best defensive team overall, even with Embiid playing 63 games of their 80. With time to focus on just one opponent in round one, that defensive ability can actually tick up, enabling Philly to run more. Knowing the 76ers' offensive weaknesses, as their opponents will, means Simmons and his crew will face far tougher defensive opposition than they saw all year, and they were just slightly better than average on that end this season. 

Getting more shots in transition can be a difference maker for them. Postseason confidence on offense for this young team is a pivotal part of its game to focus on, which is why the Sixers' elite-level defense can mean so much to them. Dunks and open 3s will bolster that confidence immensely. 

Conventional wisdom demands that experience counts more than ever in the playoffs. But Philadelphia’s first-round opponent will not be thinking about that. It will be consumed with how best to attack that Sixers defense and with limiting their transition looks following steals and missed shots. To take advantage of Philly's inexperience requires its opponent to be in a competitive game in the final minutes, something the Sixers have made it very tough to do since March 1. 

In their 18 wins the past five weeks, their average victory margin was over 13 points per game, though they only had four games against teams in the playoff hunt in that span. If these young players can shake off their excitement over the breakout season and get locked into their responsibilities in the new season, they are capable of playing suffocating enough defense to make up for a stymied offense. 

Hosting Game 1 will tell us a lot. Are they satisfied or hungry for more?