David Berding/Getty ImagesThe Philadelphia 76ers have been in the playoffs for five years in a row.
The Philadelphia 76ers qualified for the playoffs with a 112-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The 76ers were helped by a 44-point performance from their big man.
This was a different path for the team to take in the past.
All of the headlines coming into the season were about Ben Simmons. The three-time All-Star requested a trade in August.
It took until the Feb. 10 trade deadline for the Philadelphia 76ers to add James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets to their roster.
Philadelphia was in the running for the playoffs before the trade was made.
Everything works around the center of it all. Entering Sunday, he was averaging 30.0 points, 11.5 rebound and 4.3 assists per game, while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from deep.
The starting point guard this season is Tyrese Maxey. The second-year star put up 17.2 points and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 41.6% from three-point range. Matisse Thybulle is one of the best wing defenders in the NBA.
The debut of Harden for the 76ers was a huge success after he missed eight straight games with a hamstring injury. He had 27 points and 12 assists in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
That was probably the most wide-open I have ever been in my career, said the player after the game, in which he scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebound.
The 76ers are trying to get over the hump in the playoffs and bringing in Harden is supposed to be the next step.
In each of the past four seasons, the 76ers haven't advanced past the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Atlanta Hawks series in 2021 and the Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors in 2019) marked the end of Simmons tenure in Philadelphia.
This roster is set up to make a deep playoff run on the strength of having two of the best players in the NBA, even though Morey had to sacrifice some of Philadelphia's depth in the Harden trade.
During the 2000-01 season, the 76ers reached the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
All of the pieces are in place for a special playoffs in Philadelphia, even if this team can't have the same run as that squad.
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