3 New Year's Resolutions for the Philadelphia 76ers

With the New Year approaching, what is the Philadelphia 76ers' New Years Resolution going to be?

It's finally time to conclude 2019. For the Philadelphia 76ers, it could be considered somewhat of a disaster year considering what went down. For starters, a lot of fans were upset that key members of 'The Process' were shipped off to other teams as Sixers' General Manager, Elton Brand, created a roster shakeup.

The result of the roster shakeup ended up being similar to the previous season -- a second-round exit in the NBA playoffs. Instead of getting manhandled by the Boston Celtics in the second round, though, the Sixers actually went the distance with the eventual NBA champions. The way they lost was extremely devastating, though.

It felt as if the last-second buzzer-beater dagger to the Sixers' heart motivated the team to come back with a vengeance during the start of the 2019-2020 season. So far though, we've witnessed a team who keeps making the same mistakes over and over again.

With the New Year coming in, the Sixers need to be on the bandwagon of creating a resolution and making changes in their team's ways. With a record of 23-12, the Sixers are still in good shape. However, their head coach claimed he wanted the first seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs before the season started.

Considering how the Sixers have been playing as of late, they're going to need to make a few changes heading into the New Year so they can get to where they want to be. So with that, let's observe some New Year's Resolution's for the Philadelphia 76ers. . .

1. More Consistency

It comes as no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers are a good basketball team. Barring a major downfall, the Sixers will make it to the playoffs for the third-straight season. Right now though, they are looking at a fifth seed.

Granted, it's only December and a lot can change -- but fifth place is pretty much on par with where the Sixers have been throughout the first half of the year. Some days, the Sixers look like the number one team in the conference (ie. Christmas day). Other days, the Sixers look like they haven't upgraded one bit from the previous two years.

We know how talented this roster is, but for some reason, they can't consistently put it all together on a nightly basis. No matter how good or bad an opponent is, you truly never know how the Sixers will play against them. This past week showed that very clearly.

2. A Shooter Off the Bench

The trade season is here in the NBA. Unlike last year, though, the market seems a bit dry and quiet. Last year, the Sixers were getting busy before the deadline. This season, Elton Brand seems more content with the roster he has created over the past year.

Just because he's content, though, doesn't mean he isn't looking to make the squad better. Don't expect any superstar shakeups for the Sixers in 2020. But also don't be surprised when the 76ers find themselves a nice scorer to load up on their bench.

Whether it be Davis Bertans, JJ Redick, or Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Sixers are more than likely looking to find somebody to come help them create points off the bench. Admittedly, this idea came from The Athletic, which considered Trey Burke to potentially become that guy who creates a spark off the bench.

As we've witnessed just a few nights ago in Miami, Burke can come in and create scoring opportunities for the Sixers, but Brett Brown has been hesitant to consistently offer the veteran guard up some minutes off the bench. Perhaps that changes moving forward, and the Sixers don't need to make a trade for one of those aforementioned players. As of right now, though, Burke's spot in the rotation is temporary and on a game-by-game basis. 

3. More Threes From. . . Ben Simmons

At this point, the overreaction to Ben Simmons' lack of three-point shooting has become more of an obligatory joke, rather than a top issue for the 76ers. Yes, if Ben Simmons became a threat to shoot the three-ball, the Sixers would be much better off.

But it's truly not that simple. Even if Simmons makes some three-pointers here and there, teams would still leave him wide open. Wanting Simmons to shoot the three all the time is a selfish thing for tons of Sixers fans.

Shooting one once-per-game, however, is something that Sixers' head coach Brett Brown has wanted to see from Simmons for about a month now.

Ben Simmons was a career 0-17 from three before this one ... Now he's on the board 👌 pic.twitter.com/Ot30TEcyNi

— ESPN (@espn) November 21, 2019

Ever since Brown mentioned that he would like just one three-point shot per game from Simmons, the young point guard hasn't delivered -- not once. It's very clear that Simmons looks for the high-percentage shot on every play, and the team has acknowledged that.

Sometimes, though, the Sixers' point guard seems to be overthinking everything. Not every possession is going to have a perfect look. Brown wasn't asking for Simmons to chuck up five-plus three-pointers a game. He just wants one -- and that shouldn't be too hard for Simmons to do.