Are the Sixers Serious Contenders in the East?

Written by: Sean Oneill

January 12th, 2021

Perhaps the question that’s on all of our minds as the Sixers are off to an incredible start with one of the best records in the league. Sixers Twitter is a buzz, local sports stations have taken notice, and the team looks like, well, a team. Anchored by Embiid’s MVP caliber start along with the much improved scoring from Tobias Harris, as well as what for now appears to be some key free agent signings, fans are thinking twice about whether or not they even needed to be involved in all of the James Harden trade rumors, which had many curious as to whether or not it was time to move on from the Embiid Simmons duo if a deal for Harden was on the table. So, if the team keeps playing like this can they compete or for that matter, beat the other top teams in the East?

Surprisingly, the defending Eastern Conference champions seem like they have one of the worst chances to win it this year. What they did in the bubble was truly special and great to watch winning in large part to their grit and hardwork, but will that be enough again this year? No, no I don’t think it will be. They simply don’t have the talent for me to see them beating any of the early favorites, like the Bucks, Celtics, Sixers, or the Nets in a seven game series. Perhaps they should have considered those Herro for Harden rumors more seriously.

Next, let’s talk about the Bucks, shall we? I’d say they are around even with Boston this year but the Celtics have always been a thorn in the Sixers side. The Sixers matchup very well with the Bucks, having some of the best defenders to take on Giannis. I’m not saying it will be easy but Milaukee obviously has not had great performances in the playoffs the last couple of years. Certainly not a team I’d consider blowing up the current Sixers roster to compete with.

As for Boston, it is mostly the same feeling as Milaukee, Boston is really really good, but not a team that should scare the Sixers. Especially because this is the team that has the worst matchup against Embiid. Before you tell me Theiss is about to lock him down this year the rest of the Sixers actually know how to shoot the ball. Boston’s success on Embiid in the past has come from excellent team defense on him but now with Seth Curry, Danny Green, and Tobias Harris double and triple teams should not be as effective.

Lastly, the biggest threat and my favorites in the East, the Nets. Besides having KD and Kyrie they are deep with shooting, scoring, and two centers that can make Embiid really work. Durant and Irving are the main reasons though as they both know how to win in the postseason which is rare to deal with in the East right now. If I am the Sixers I am keeping a close eye on Brooklyn and how well they play leading up to the trade deadline. This is the team I could see going to get Harden to compete with although if you do it you better be right and the team needs to be able to win now. Houston is going to get a lot and most likely Ben Simmons would be gone meaning if this fails everyone’s job is on the hot seat afterwards.

I know there are some other teams that could be interesting like the Hawks, Raptors, and Pacers but it’s simply too early in the season to consider them serious contenders for the Eastern Conference. If Philly can keep this level of play up I don’t see much of a need to blow up the roster for Harden. For now, let's see how the season plays out, and how this team continues to stack up against the rest of the Eastern conference.

-- This was all written before the bombshell trade sending Harden to Brooklyn and it seems as if the Sixers front office roughly agreed with my sentiment. If the reports are true that Houston wanted Ben, Maxey, Thybulle, and picks, then Philly did the right thing to try and grow this team under Doc. Now it really comes down to how much Simmons can improve this year, if he can be as good as we all hoped he would be since his rookie year this team can still contend with the Nets even with Harden.