Ranking The Scariest Teams In The Eastern Conference (From A Sixers Perspective)
Ranking The Scariest Teams In The Eastern Conference (From A Sixers Perspective)
The best teams aren’t always the scariest.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
I’ll be honest: sometimes it gets tough writing about the Sixers. One day you’re on WebMD trying to establish an injury timeline, the next you’re worrying about perimeter shot creation. It’s an endless cycle of hyper-focused analysis on a team highly-prone to being at the center of some stupid stuff.
So, as we continue to await word on Ben Simmons and whether or not he will be traded before training camp begins in a few weeks, let’s turn away from the Sixers for once and focus on the rest of the competition in the Eastern Conference.
As we found out the hard way last season, a difficult postseason matchup can render an objectively excellent regular season as a red herring. So, who in the Eastern Conference scares me the most?
#14: Detroit Pistons
Let’s just be frank: while Cade Cunningham is a tantalizing prospect and our old friend Jerami Grant has turned into an excellent player, the Pistons have so little else in the immediate term that I think they are by default the easiest matchup in the conference. I like a lot of their young pieces, some more than most (hello, Killian Hayes!), but in the present, this team is… not good.
#13: Orlando Magic
The Magic are in a full-blown rebuild after dealing Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier at last year’s trade deadline. They are ripe with young talent and draft picks, many of which could prove to be very valuable down the line. However, this current roster poses so few genuine threats to a team like the Sixers.
#12: Cleveland Cavaliers
I’m nervous to write this blurb after the amount of times that the Cavs have upset the Sixers in recent years. They are the exact kind of team the Sixers would blow a game to on a Thursday night in the middle of January: bad, but with a player or two who could go for 30+ points on any given night that will inevitably torch the Sixers (Collin Sexton, come on down!).
#11: New York Knicks
Let me be clear: I wholeheartedly believe the Knicks are better than the 11th-best team in the Eastern Conference. However, they have not beaten the Sixers in several years now, despite four matchups every season. I usually don’t put much into a small season series sample size, but it’s been long enough now that I think it’s safe to say the Sixers have their number. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have both dominated this team for years.
#10: Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are probably worse than at least one or two of the teams listed before them, but I think we would all agree that they’re scarier for the Sixers than for most teams. You don’t need me to remind you of this, but the Raptors have a history of scheming against Embiid effectively. With the Raptors back in their home arena this season, a house of horrors for the Sixers opens back up.
#9: Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets were one of my favorite teams to watch last season, thanks to the passing wizardry of LaMelo Ball and the absolute craziness that is an Eric Collins-led broadcast. Kemba Walker is no longer walking through that door, though. Walker, a classic thorn in the Sixers’ side, now resides in New York. According to Basketball Reference, the Hornets have not beaten the Sixers since November of 2016.
#8: Indiana Pacers
This Pacers team is, to put it lightly, weird as hell. I think they have a real chance to be very good next season. With that being said, Embiid has historically treated Myles Turner like a rag doll. Domantas Sabonis’ brute force on offense is less effective against a stout post defender like Embiid.
#7: Chicago Bulls
The Bulls made some nice moves this summer, and are armed with a few players (Zach Lavine, DeMar DeRozan and Vucevic) who have a history of playing well against the Sixers. You’re telling me they have two quick perimeter creators and a big-man who can take Embiid out of the paint or kill a deep drop scheme? I’m at least a bit nervous.
#6: Washington Wizards
The Wizards are much worse than this ranking would indicate. But we’ve all seen the story before: the Sixers head to Washington to play a game they should win handily, they show up looking out of sorts and multiple Wizards guards torch their defense. New teams, same story.
#5: Boston Celtics
Let’s be honest here: we’ve all thought about the possibility that Al Horford’s career revives itself in Boston and his form as the Embiid-stopper returns. I’m not saying that it’s definitely going to happen. But I am saying you’ve definitely considered hypothetical Embiid struggles in Boston and the insufferable Anna Horford tweets that would ensue.
#4: Miami Heat
For my money, the Heat are the third best team in the Eastern Conference. They already had two borderline superstars in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Now added to that core is Kyle Lowry, who we know all too well is an excellent two-way player. Additionally, the Heat are stacked with quality role players. But I don’t think any team in the Eastern Conference outside of Brooklyn and Milwaukee has a big three as good as Butler-Adebayo-Lowry.
#3: Atlanta Hawks
I think the Heat are slightly better than the Hawks, but after what happened last postseason, the Hawks have earned a higher spot on this list. The Hawks staged multiple massive comebacks against the Sixers en route to a 4-3 series victory in last season’s second round of the playoffs. The bad news: Trae Young and co. are only going to improve.
#2: Milwaukee Bucks
Embiid is one of the best defenders in the NBA against two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Luckily for Milwaukee, though, even the best Giannis defenders have few answers when it comes to actually stopping him. You can watch the Christmas 2019 game all you want, but in the end the Bucks have too much firepower for me to expect a Sixers upset.
#1: Brooklyn Nets
If you don’t put the defending champions atop a list like this, you better have a good reason. How’s this for one: the Brooklyn Nets have Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. In what is at least the best threesome in the NBA since the Miami Heat big three, Durant-Harden-Irving is an absolutely horrifying group for opposing defenses. I think this Nets team, finally at full health, will rout through the entire NBA. Unfortunately, the Sixers are no exception.