NBA fans believe that the Philadelphia 76ers are at serious risk of falling out of contention in the Eastern Conference after the latest moves made by the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. This NBA offseason has been filled with trade discussions regarding the departure of Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Dame has not been the only player that has shifted teams this NBA offseason. Every contender that fell short of winning an NBA title this season has attempted to make some changes to their roster to get closer to winning a championship.
Although there is no way of knowing how these teams will perform next season, several members of the NBA community believe that the 76ers have little to no chance of remaining contenders in the Eastern Conference. That said, let us take a closer look.
Can the Philadelphia 76ers get past the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks?
To those who might be unaware, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks have made some big changes to their roster heading into the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA season. Boston traded away Marcus Smart and brought in Kristaps Porzingis.
Moreover, the Celtics also managed to acquire Jrue Holiday, who was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers by the Milwaukee Bucks in return for getting Damian Lillard. Adding Lillard to the Bucks’ roster as well as adding Holiday and Porzingis to the Celtics’ roster arguably make both teams better.
Celtics vs Bucks in the ECF finna be a movie man 🤞🍿 pic.twitter.com/PHBxvk9bKb
— 𝓖𝓪𝓫𝓮 🍀 (@gabe_blessed) September 28, 2023
A prominent member of the basketball media called Kevin O’Connor noticed these changes and opined that the Celtics and Bucks are on a tier of their own. A tier far better when compared to other teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Bucks and Celtics are on their own tier in the East. Cavs aren’t close. Sixers might be in trouble. Heat are a second round exit at best.
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) October 1, 2023
Although we have no way of knowing for certain that both teams are significantly better than Philadelphia, the fact remains that they have added significant star power to their roster in contrast to the Philadelphia 76ers. While many assumed that the franchise would trade away an unhappy James Harden for other assets, no trade package has materialized at the moment and trade discussions have come to an end regarding moving him.
As a sixers fan, it’s very clear imo…
It’s over. Time to move on to another rebuild
— Nick Wolf (@wolfnick10) October 1, 2023
In any case, 76ers fans appear disheartened that their team hasn’t gotten better over the NBA offseason. They will most certainly need Joel Embiid to have another MVP-caliber season and Harden to get over his issues with the 76ers’ management if they wish to beat teams like the Bucks and Celtics in the playoffs.
