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For the first time in roughly forever, the Eastern Conference appears to be loaded this year. The reigning champion New York Knicks are atop the conference for now, but the Sixers and others will be nipping at their heels all season as they vie for East supremacy.
The Sixers loaded up by adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown this offseason, but they were hardly the only East team to make a major splash. The Miami Heat landed Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Toronto Raptors landed Kawhi Leonard (we think?). The Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers didn’t make any additions on that level, but Mitchell Robinson, Peyton Watson and our beloved Kelly Oubre Jr., respectively, are notable adds nevertheless.
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Now that the dust has (mostly) settled on the offense, how does the new-look East stack up, and who’s the biggest threat to the Sixers this year? We’ve ranked the top five based on their current rosters and the potential matchup problems that they could present.
TBD: Toronto Raptors
Assuming the Kawhi trade eventually goes through at some point, the Raptors could be a sleeping giant in the East.
Scottie Barnes is already one of the NBA’s most versatile young forwards. He finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year race last season and averaged a well-rounded 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. He might be miscast as a No. 1 option, but he should be a strong No. 2 alongside Leonard.
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Between Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, the Raptors would have plenty of supplemental scoring around that duo. But the truly terrifying prospect is the three-man combination of Leonard, Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles. That type of length on defense could give the Sixers’ guards and wings plenty of trouble.
Jakob Poeltl is the wild card for Toronto, particularly with Sandro Mamukelashvili now with the Los Angeles Lakers. Poeltl has missed at least 25 games in each of the past three seasons, and his balky back limited him to a career-low 46 games last year. The Raptors don’t have much (any?) proven frontcourt depth behind him, which perhaps makes this a matchup tailor-made…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ranking-sixers-biggest-threats-eastern-160000221.html
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Publish date : 2026-09-14 16:00:00
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