Charles Barkley: Playoffs are 'a definite' for 76ers this year

Hall of Famer-turned-analyst Charles Barkley is confident that one of his former squads, the Philadelphia 76ers, will find themselves in the postseason come April.

“The playoffs are a definite for the Sixers this year," Barkley told CSN Philadelphia on Friday. “ ... If (Joel) Embiid is healthy and (Ben) Simmons is healthy, I think they’re definitely gonna make the playoffs. Obviously the injury thing has really hurt them the last couple years. But if those two guys are healthy, I think both of them are terrific players. Now you’ve got (Markelle) Fultz, you’ve got JJ (Redick). They’ve done some good things with the guys coming off the bench. (Dario) Saric was fantastic last year.

“If they don’t make the playoffs, I’d be totally shocked.”

To Barkley's point, the Sixers' future hinges on the health of its young franchise cornerstones — perhaps more than any other team in the league.

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Embiid, Philadelphia's No. 3 overall pick in 2014 who missed his first two NBA seasons after undergoing two foot surgeries, was the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year last season, but the star center had his campaign cut short at 31 games after suffering a meniscus tear. Simmons, Philadelphia's No. 1 overall pick in 2016, missed all of last season after breaking his foot in training camp. 

If they can fend off the injury bug, the Sixers — who have added much-needed veterans like Redick and Amir Johnson this summer — have positioned themselves to reap the benefits of a weakened Eastern Conference and fight for a postseason spot for the first time since 2012. 

Barkley also addressed the question of how Fultz — this year's No. 1 overall pick — and Simmons will mesh, as both players are capable of manning the point guard spot.

“One or the other is probably going to have to defer a little bit because they both want the ball,” Barkley said. “They’re both dominant guys with the ball. I think coach (Brett) Brown is gonna have to really talk to them about that. That could be an interesting dynamic of their team because they’re both ball-dominant guys and they both will probably have to sacrifice a little bit in that area.”

Simmons said recently that while he expects the backcourt pairing to work, he views himself as a starting point guard. 

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