Despite their low ranking in past years, the Philadelphia 76ers have turned themselves into a legitimate title contender in the Eastern Conference. After acquiring young and talented players in the past drafts, the Sixers traded for All-Star caliber talents to boost their chance of contending for the NBA championship title in the 2018-19 NBA season. As of now, there’s no doubt that the Sixers have one of the most talented rosters in the NBA.
The team’s starting lineup featuring Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, J.J. Reddick, and Ben Simmons, undeniably has a real chance of beating any powerhouse teams in the league, even the reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. The Sixers still have a lot of work to do regarding their chemistry, but team owner Josh Harris is very confident that Philadelphia can reach a higher level this season, per ESPN .
“I think we have enough talent to go very deep in the playoffs,” Harris said. “I think we have enough talent to win [it all]. We want to make sure at a minimum to advance deeper in the playoffs than we did last year. We’ve brought a lot of talent here. They haven’t been together that long, but we’re hopeful we can position them for a deep run. It’s exciting. I’m focused, but I’m also nervous.”
Mike Scott scores 22 but #Sixers drop thriller to #GoldenState #Warriors , 120-117 https://t.co/P3BKMcJh1p via @phillydotcom
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) March 3, 2019
Last season, the Sixers managed to reach the second round of the Eastern Conference, despite only having Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons as their superstars. Now that they have Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris on their side, the Sixers are definitely not only aiming to fully dominate the Eastern Conference, but they also have the NBA championship title in their sights. Although LeBron James is already playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, conquering the Eastern Conference won’t be an easy task for the Sixers.
Unlike what most people think, when James parted ways with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the competition in the Eastern Conference got tougher, as teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors became more aggressive in upgrading their roster. The Boston Celtics may not have made any major move before the February NBA trade deadline, but the Sixers are still expected to have a tough time beating them in a best-of-seven series. Josh Harris said that suffering an early playoff exit this season would be “problematic” for the Sixers.
“It would be problematic,” Harris said. “Very problematic. It would not be what we’re playing for. We’d be unhappy.”
