Philadelphia 76ers vs Charlotte Hornets Playoff Preview

The 76ers and Hornets will square off in what we expect to be a hotly contested affair.  The 76ers by all account have overachieved all season.  Not because of the roster makeup, but because of the injury issues they’ve endured to get here.  The 76ers were without Paul George down the season stretch and were without Dejounte Murray all year after he got injured the week that the 76ers traded for him.  Ben is a master mind at the controls and continues to get all he can out of the roster.  The Hornets have also dealt with some injury woes, as their star player Ja Morant was scarcely available, especially in the middle 3^rd of the season.  Newly acquired big man Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up in a huge way, along with DeMar Derozan and OG Anunoby who compiled one of the best two-way groups in the league.  Let’s dive into the expectations of the series, and the x-factors that could tip the series in favor of one of these teams.

Starting Lineups:

76ers: Ajay Mitchell, Jalen Greene, Ryan Dunn, Draymond Green, Steven Adams

Hornets: Ja Morant, DeMar Derozan, Kenrich Williams, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns

The Hornets appear to have a quite clear and decisive victory when looking at the star power of these 2 lineups.  It is confirmed that the 76ers will have Paul George available and healthy for this series, and his absence from the starting lineup (and rotation all together) at this time is puzzling.  You’d imagine he’d fit into the starting 3 spot here, but we will do with the information we have.  Ja Morant is the best player in the series and will provide instant offense whenever on the floor for the Hornets.  DeMar, OG, and KAT round out a quarter of stars that are seldomly rivaled in the NSL.  All switchable, lengthy, and for the most part solid defenders, the 76ers may find it tough to score in this one.  Jalen Green will be shouldering a major load.  On the flip side, the 76ers appear to be willing and ready to make this an old-school, low scoring affair of a series.  Mitchell, Dunn, Green, and Adams all profile as plus NSL defenders.  Dunn and Mitchell are quick, and willing thieves, Green is a jack of all trades, lock down combo forward, and there aren’t many centers in the league who can deal with the size and strength of Adams.  I do give the starting lineup edge to Charlotte, but this isn’t the NBA, and I think the 76ers have more than enough fire power (looking at you Jalen) to keep these games competitive when the starting groups are on the floor. 

Benches:

76ers: Fultz, Christie, Mogbo, Mamu

Charlotte: Lowry, Champagnie, Martin, Tucker, Saric

One thing that must be pointed out is again the exclusion of key 76ers players from the current roster.  I don’t know if the information I have is not up to date, or if Ben perhaps forgot to set his playoff lineup, but key names such as: Jordan Clarkson, Dayron Sharpe, and of course, PG13, are all absent from the current lineup.  IF those players were involved here, there’s an easy and clear edge to award to Philadelphia.  So clear that I believe it’d be a major tipping factor in the series.  However, the benches currently outlined appear quite evenly balanced.  Tucker and Lowry bring the Hornets some much needed playoff experience, while Saric and Champagnie are both useful pieces.  Fultz is one of the best bench guards in the NSL when healthy and engaged, so Ben will look to get his mid-season acquisition going early.  Ben is usually on top of everything, so I am going to expect the information I have is dated, and if so, with the inclusion of Clarkson, Sharpe, and likely Dunn, there’s a clear edge given to Philly.

X-Factors:

Low hanging fruit here, but the easy answer is Ja Morant.  Of course, he is going to fill it up, and get his points, but I feel the real x-factor here is how Philly plans to deal with him.  They have strong defenders, but those defenders are likely not best suited on a ball dominant guard like Morant.  Jalen Green is surely not the matchup you’d like to use on him, so it comes down to Mitchell, Dunn, or PG.  You’d imagine PG’s length would be best served on the secondary scorer in Derozan, however, Philly may not be able to hang tough if they don’t keep Morant in check.  Philly’s defense against Morant to me is the x-factor to watch in this one.  The other x-factor is PG13.  Is he healthy enough to continue to carry Philly the way he did in the middle third of the season this year?  Can they recapture the lightning in a bottle they had that catapulted their way up the standings?  I expect him to come back healthy and ready and willing to kill anyone in front of him, however, he will likely draw a tough matchup from OG Anunoby.  If Philly is to win the series, the edge needs to come from PG and Jalen Green on the offensive end.

Prediction:

I fully expect a tightly contested affair in this one, and whichever way it goes I expect the minimum number of games played to be 6.  Charlotte has a clear edge in the starting lineup ratings department, but Ben’s shrewd tactics lead me to believe he’s got some, if not all of the answers already.  Philly has the clear edge on the reserve groups, having multiple difference makers coming off the bench in pivotal minutes should be a huge tipping factor in this series.  My prediction is Charlotte in 7.  I still believe stars run the NSL, and the quartet of stars in place in Charlotte I think will be too much for the balanced depth that Philly is running out.  Best of luck to both teams in this series, and throughout their playoff runs!