Philadelphia 76ers Championship Futures: Bet or Pass?

The Philadelphia 76ers are 3-4 to start the 2022-23 NBA season and people are beginning to panic. The Sixers added PJ Tucker and De'Anthony Melton to last year's 51-win team, and James Harden is in shape and playing some great basketball right now. But a nine-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs as 13.5-point home favorites last week is being viewed as a genuine cause for concern in Philadelphia — and for those that don't even follow the team. 

Have Philadelphia's title hopes gone out the window? We'll dive into that here, as we're going to tell you whether you should bet or pass on the Sixers as a futures bet. The Sixers are currently going off at +1400 to win the championship at BetMGM Sportsbook, where you can turn $10 into a free $200 here if you bet on a game and any player in that contest hits a three (that's probably going to happen, folks). 

Philadelphia 76ers Championship Futures: Bet or Pass After 3-4 Start? 

Some sportsbooks are only offering the Sixers to win the title at +1200, so the fact that you can get it at BetMGM at +1400 is kind of a steal. While the start to the year has been miserable for Philadelphia, the reality is that anybody that was high on this team before the year should also be high on it now. Last year, the Phoenix Suns had a 1-3 record through four games and won 64 games, so the start of the season really doesn't have to mean anything. This Philadelphia team is crazy talented and has all the pieces it needs to win games and potentially contend. 

With that in mind, we're still saying to bet the Sixers to win it all and we're not too worried about what we've seen thus far — well, outside of the fact that Doc Rivers isn't a good basketball coach and is still being paid to be a basketball coach. The Sixers have Harden playing near the peak of his powers right now, which is really all they can ask for at this point in the year. As long as Harden can remain healthy, this team will get back on track. 

Last year, the Sixers were 11th in the league in offensive rating and 12th in the league in defensive rating. This year, despite having improved their team during the offseason, the Sixers are ninth in offensive rating and down at 20th in defensive rating. With that in mind, it's pretty clear that this early-season stretch is merely a fluke. Philadelphia will begin to calm the nerves soon, and these are still championship tickets that can end up cashing at the end of the year. 

Before the season, the only question mark surrounding this team was whether or not Harden would be playing like a legitimate max player. Through three games, it's clear he is ready to do that. That will open things up for Joel Embiid to dominate the paint, but these two players still have to adjust to one another. This is Harden's first full season in Philadelphia and that seems to be something that people forget. As he gets more and more comfortable, this will start to look more and more like a contender. 

We also know for a fact that President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey is willing to be aggressive. If he feels this team is a piece away from contending, he won't hesitate to make a win-now move. That's something else that you have to like when looking at a team that is already one of the best in the league, on paper.