NBA 2018-19: 3 Factors That Make Philadelphia 76ers East Finals Contenders

The Sixers GM, Elton Brand knows the time is here. The fans in Philly can feel it.

The team looks sharper than ever with the All-Star break right around the corner and less than 30 games to go before the postseason kicks off. The Sixers are currently occupying the 4th spot out in the East with a 36-20(0.643) win-loss record to their name. Toronto, Milwaukee, and Oladipo-less Indiana are the only teams besting Philadelphia at the moment.

Now that the trade deadline has passed and the rosters are set, we can list the factors solidifying their legit playoff bid, through the settled smoke. Let's try and jot down a bunch of pivotal talking points acting towards Philadelphia's recent upward curve.

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#1 The Sixers front office bagged some quality reinforcements before the trade deadline

Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic are the NBA's happiest couple

According to ESPN's records,

Philadelphia 76ers Acquired Fs Tobias Harris, C Boban Marjanovic and F Mike Scott from the Los Angeles Clippers for G Landry Shamet, F Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala, a lottery-protected 2020 first-round draft pick, a 2021 first-, 2021 second- and 2023 second-round picks.

The above-mentioned move happened on February 6th, hours before the trade deadline, and many believe that Philly sneaked away with one of the best trade deals of this year's mid-season player-exchange window.

The Clippers were hanging by a thread already, down at the eighth spot on the West leaderboard, and were able to draw maximum output of a roster consisting of not even a single reputed name.

Tobias was leading the Clippers in scoring when he got shipped to Philly with his close friend Boban and teammate Mike Scott. Experts have been trying to wrap their heads around the trade that matched quality with quantity, which eventually led to the Clippers being robbed of their star player.

On the other hand, the Sixers now possess a killer starting lineup of Harris, Embiid, Simmons, Redick, and Butler. Their most recent 23-point rout of LeBron's Lakers was just a glimpse of what Harris' amalgamation can do to their postseason campaign in a nutshell.

#2 Led by Embiid, all their key players are playing the best basketball of their respective careers

The Sixers' roster houses seven players averaging double digits in scoring

JoJo leads the league in double-doubles, averaging career-high numbers in points and rebounds this season so far. His averages of 27.2 ppg and 13.5 rpg are top 10 in the league as of this moment.

If that was not enough to hit it home, Ben Simmons and the recently added Tobias Harris are scoring points at a career-high rate this year as well. Tobi was scoring almost 21 points a game in LA before being traded to Philly, while Simmons is averaging a near triple-double of 16.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg, and 8.0 apg.

Although veteran sharpshooter Redick is not dropping the best shooting percentages of his career, he is still managing to average a career-best 18.6 ppg this season. Lastly, Jimmy Butler is contributing 19 points a game across the 33 games he has started for Philly this season.

With production incoming from all directions, opponents are bound to have a hard time stopping this team from scoring, as there appear to be multiple efficient outlets at the same time.

#3 The capricious weather in the East is conducive to their imminent success

Victor Oladipo is set to miss the remainder of the season

Philadelphia linger just one game behind the Pacers on the Eastern Conference leaderboard. With their main man Victor Oladipo out for the rest of the season with a ruptured quad tendon in his right leg, Pacers are just hanging on for dear life hoping they don't get battered in the upcoming games preceding the playoffs.

Let's really, really, really, really hope that Vic is alright. Oladipo goes down with an apparent knee injury and it didn't look good. #Pacers pic.twitter.com/CA6LacMo87

— FOX Sports Indiana (@FSIndiana) January 24, 2019

Moreover, Marcus Morris Sr. just gave us some insight into the Celtics' locker room atmosphere,

"I mean, for me, it's not really about the loss," Morris said, via ESPN. "It's about the attitude that we're playing with. Guys are hanging their head. It's just not fun, it's not fun. We're not competing at a high level. Even when we're winning it's still not fun. I just don't see the joy in the game.

Boston is the team right at Philly's tail on the East standings. Indiana is the team that the Sixers are chasing in order to find a place amongst the upper echeleons of the East. Both the teams are going through struggles of their own while the Sixers look strong as ever after the trade deadline.

If only Embiid and co. could take advantage of this mismatch, they can make the final sprint for the gold before time runs out on the regular season.