2018-19 NBA Preview: Areas of improvement for every Sixers youngster

The Philadelphia 76ers' fanbase has had to endure the long and arduous route of tanking for several seasons in order to accumulate enough talent to make a run at title contention. But with the 2017-18 season, those travails ended for a fanbase which has had 2 successive #1 overall picks (2016 and 2017) before making the playoffs this past year.

Having already made several strides in just one season, the Sixers will now be aiming to go all out in an Eastern Conference finally free of LeBron's vice-like grip. While last year's elimination in the playoffs against the Celtics was definitely a snag in The Process, the level of talent they possess in their ranks is too much for them to aim any lower than a Finals berth this go-around.

Let's take a look at the improvements each of the Sixers' youngsters needs to make over the coming season.

#1 Ben Simmons - Developing a shot

Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics - Game Two

There's a reason the entirety of the NBA fraternity is already raving about the #1 overall pick from the 2016 NBA draft. After redshirting his rookie season, Simmons transitioned so effortlessly into a transcendent player in the NBA that the Rookie of the Year race for the 2017-18 season was effectively a foregone conclusion by January, though Mitchell arguably had the better second half of the season.

Blessed with an extremely athletic physique and capable of executing fast, quick-twitch movements at nearly 7', Simmons also happens to have one of the neatest handles in the league. Playmaking comes but naturally to this Aussie, who carries himself up and down the court with the calm and composure of a seasoned NBA vet.

The young King will, however, need to develop a jumpshot to fulfil his immense potential. He was dead last in mid-range field goal percentage last season, and tends to attempt all kinds of poorly constructed shots from that range instead of using a consistent jump-shooting release.

Now, this problem seems to be a really fundamental shortcoming in Simmons' game and it may well take several years for him to develop a reliable shot. But the way the Celtics defended him in the playoffs this summer makes it imperative for him to start the work as soon as he can.

#2 Joel Embiid - Better conditioning and fitness

Oklahoma City Thunder v Philadelphia 76ers

It is no exaggeration when people say that Embiid could be a perennial MVP candidate in this league. The Cameroonian #3 overall pick has yet to play one full season in good health, but he's already demonstrated his ability to do many tough things on a basketball court at an elite level.

Averaging 22.9 points, 11 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game on a lower minutes-per game average than Clint Capela (30.3 minutes per game), Embiid put the Eastern Conference on notice last season as the Sixers made their first playoffs in 5 seasons and managed to reach the Conference Semifinals.

The most prominent of Embiid's vices on a basketball court are his relatively low levels of endurance - although he's fit enough for the role he has in short spurts, he does not have the endurance to sustain a high level of play for extended playoff minutes.

This resulted in a few occasions in their second round series when Embiid was borderline unplayable, as Horford dominated their matchup on both sides of the court.

On the plus side, this is Embiid's first full offseason with no injury troubles (so far), so he's had time to improve that aspect of his otherwise dominant game. Hopefully he comes out of the gate this season in better shape than last.

#3 Dario Saric - Defensive awareness

Do not let the lack of hype around Saric fool you into thinking he's not at the same level as the rest of the Sixers' youngsters. In 2 seasons of NBA play, the 24-year-old has consolidated himself as one of the best stretch 4 players in the league.

His improvements in the second year were sneakily elite - an 8.2% jump in 3-point shooting efficiency on an increased volume, a 4% increase in field goal percentage meaning that he took the same number of shots per game but they resulted in a 2 ppg jump.

Offensively, it is clear that Saric has got the whole package. But for the Sixers to reach the next level of playoff excellence, it is clear that the Croat needs to pull up his socks defensively. The Sixers' defensive rating spiked when he sat and allowed Simmons to play as the power forward on the defensive end - a clear indicator of the same.

Teams hunt for Saric to switch onto the ballhandler when Redick is off the floor for the Sixers. Much of his struggles come from guarding shorter perimeter players in the opposition.

#4 Markelle Fultz - Shooting mechanics

The spotlight is on the Sixers' 20-year-old #1 overall pick from the 2017 NBA draft after he finished the queerest season ever played by a #1 overall pick in 2017-18.

Fultz reconstructed his jumpshot after putting on some shoulder and arm weight in the summer of 2017 with disastrous effect. The Sixers' shooting trainer said he'd 'gotten the yips' and forgotten how to shoot, and after appearing in their first couple of games, Fultz was shut down indefinitely.

A late-season comeback for the combo guard saw him become the youngest player in NBA history to compile a triple-double, but he failed to see much action off the bench for his team in a second-round playoff exit.Even if Fultz were never to get his jumpshot back, he could still be a really valuable player for the Sixers given his special driving ability and the dynamic feel he has for the game.

But he did work out this offseason with the famed Drew Hanlen, who has helped the likes of Blake Griffin, among others, in developing an NBA-level jumpshot.

Now that he's done with his rookie season, the pressure on him this year will not be nearly as much as 2017-18. But it is still a fair amount of hype for a youngster to deal with, especially considering that he's on one of the most stacked rosters in the Eastern Conference and will be expected to be a valuable contributor.