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How Do The Sixers Match Up Against Their Division?

Josh Wilson
Josh Wilson

The Sixer Sense

Jan 14, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown gathers his players during a second half time out in a 100-84 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t really looking towards competing toward the Finals next season. In fact, they probably won’t even be looking at competing to be a team making the playoffs this season. Despite this, they still will be playing four teams this year plenty of times. Their division-mates in the Atlantic Division.

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Ah, the classic interdivisional rivalries. They’re necessary components of most professional sports. Although they aren’t as exciting when your team is winning less than 25% of their games, we can still find some excitement with these games, or at least try to.

Obviously, fans aren’t too optimistic for this season, but they’re trying. The next few years are going to be a rebuilding phase, but we can look at this season with the debut of Jahlil Okafor as the very first stepping stone to a very bright future.

Going through this year, we’re hoping to see the Sixers not take last place in the division. I would say that’s a healthy, and possible realistic goal for this season. Let’s see what their competition is, as they will have to play each of these four opponents four different times.

Next: New York Knicks

Apr 5, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center

Nerlens Noel

(4) shoots over New York Knicks center

Andrea Bargnani

(77) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK KNICKS

Luckily, the Sixers weren’t the only fan base that was somewhat embarrassed about their team last year. The Knicks were about a  step away from pitiful last season, and some would even go so far as to say they were absolutely pitiful. The Knicks did one whole game worse than the Sixers last season, only able to win 17 of their 82 games, which is obviously unacceptable to their president, Phil Jackson, who has a lengthy history of winning.

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It was Jackson’s first year as president of the team, so it is obviously something he wants to get fixed.

Throughout the year, the Knicks freed up a lot of money by getting rid of Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, but lost a lot by moving these players. This offseason, they also lost Amar’e Stoudemire, but he had been somewhat of a letdown during his time as a Knick, highlighted by him punching a fire extinguisher.

The Knicks did beef up a little bit this offseason, picking up Arron Afflalo who averaged over 13 points per game last year, and Robin Lopez who averaged nearly 10 points per game last year.

Still, even with the roster they had which is highlighted by Carmelo Anthony, the team is not displaying an intimidating roster.

Last season the Knicks were last in scoring, and 28th and 29th in offensive and defensive ratings.

I truly believe the 76ers were a better team than the Knicks going into this offseason, and also did more to position themselves to win this offseason. I don’t think the four games against the Knicks will be much trouble for the Sixers, although I wouldn’t expect them to win every single one.

Next: Brooklyn Nets

Mar 14, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard

Hollis Thompson

(31) looks for an opening past Brooklyn Nets guard

Alan Anderson

(6) at Wells Fargo Center. The Nets won 94-87. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

BROOKLYN NETS

Just a few short years after being competitive, the Nets seem to be back to being a team that doesn’t have much to offer. Last season they won 44 games and advanced in the playoffs, but this season were unable to break .500, and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Still, at least they made the playoffs.

Sticking with the division’s trend of bad offense, the Nets were 21st out of 30 in scoring.

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Their roster has been falling apart. They lost Kevin Garnett as he has taken himself to his classic days with the Minnesota Timberwolves to end his career. Deron Williams is out. Luckily Brook Lopez stuck around for them, which keeps their front court pretty intimidating.

The Nets were starting to trail off last season, and didn’t do much at all so far this offseason to make up for that. They lost a lot in free agency, much more than they gained, and didn’t make a huge splash at all in the draft.

The Nets are positioning themselves to join the Knicks and the Sixers as the lower teams of the division (although, one of them certainly has to get to at least third place). They still might be able to beat the Boston Celtics for the second place spot, but I don’t see much promise for them moving forward.

I believe the Sixers could split the series with Brooklyn this season.

Next: Boston Celtics

Mar 16, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ish Smith (5) looses the ball while guarded by Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) and guard forward Evan Turner (11) during the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON CELTICS

Ever since the Celtics lost their core players, like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, things simply haven’t been the same in Boston. Last season was their best year in a while though, as they got 40 wins and even made the playoffs. I see the Celtics claiming the second place spot in this division next season.

Last season was better, but certainly not great compared to the success the Celtics franchise is used to. They picked up David Lee, which was a great acquisition that I believe will lead them to 45 wins or more.

The team drafted two guards, which was really not a smart move because they already have a strong backcourt with Avery Bradley. Maybe one guard would have made sense, but two of them? No.

Bleacher Report notes that a lot of the moves the Celtics have made lately is saving them money for the future, which is promising for the Sixers to try and make an advance on the Celtics. The Celtics aren’t good, they are just incredibly mediocre, and by making moves just to save money for the future, they’re practically asking to be stagnant this season.

Some see the Celtics as much better than the Sixers, but I think they match up well. I could see the Sixers taking two of the games against the Celtics, but I could also see them only taking one of the games. This series is largely going to depend on how the Sixers’ roster plays out, and who is starting at point guard this season.

Next: Toronto Raptors

Mar 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Louis Williams (23) dribbles the ball past Philadelphia 76ers guard JaKarr Sampson (9) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Raptors defeated the 76ers 114-103. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO RAPTORS

The Raptors are the obvious favorite in this division. Last season, they went to the playoffs with very high hopes, but were eliminated early in the first round. It was quite embarrassing, as they were swept by the Washington Wizards who were simply supposed to be not as good as the Raptors.

Still, they’re obviously the team to beat from this division. They certainly pose the biggest threat of a “season sweep,” to the Sixers. The games they play against the Raptors will be the toughest interdivisional games throughout the year.

They made some decent draft picks this year, but nothing too intimidating.

The biggest move the Raptors made was re-signing Kyle Lowry, which was important because he averaged nearly 18 points per game and 7 assists as well. Him and DeMar DeRozan is a dangerous backcourt that’s just starting to hit their stride. Shutting them down is a must, but a difficult task.

I also expect them to utilize new player Bismack Biyombo in order to get wins next year. Biyombo didn’t get much time to shine with the Charlotte Hornets, but he might get more opportunity in Toronto.

Next: Overall How Do The Sixers Match Up?

Mar 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (5) and head coach Brett Brown talk during a timeout in the second half against the Sacramento Kings at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 114-107. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

HOW DO THE SIXERS MATCH UP?

The Sixers are obviously rebuilding. Any Sixers fan knows that, even if they don’t watch any games. Heck, the ones who don’t watch games probably don’t watch because they’re rebuilding. This leads us down a path of several lost games, and definitely doesn’t place the Sixers to be division favorites this year.

Despite this, the Sixers have plenty of room to win games over their division opponents. There’s 16 games against these four teams, and I think they can take a few of them. I’m thinking three against the Knicks, two against the Nets, and one each against the Celtics and Raptors. That’s seven whole games they could add to their win column next season, which is nearly halfway to what they had total last year.

Sure, the wins against the Raptors and Celtics could be seen as wishful thinking by some, but I believe that the Sixers are a bit better than most analysts are giving them credit for.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the team went 7-9, or maybe even 8-8 against their division next season.

What do you think the Sixers’ divisional record will be next year? Tweet us @SixerSense and let us know.

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Josh Wilson

Josh Wilson

Josh is currently the Managing Editor of FanSided.com. He has worked with FanSided in some capacity for a total of eight years, starting as a contributor for Swarm and Sting, Toro Times, and HoopsHabit in 2015. He served as a site expert for The Sixer Sense during 'The Process' years while starting his educational track at Temple University as a journalism student. He later transferred to the State University of New York at Cortland where he completed his B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism. For FanSided, Josh worked as Operations Assistant before taking on a role as Editorial Director of the NBA Division, a role he held for three years. Along the way he also helped start and lead the FanSided fellowship program which created a path for several young journalists to start their careers in sports media. Nothing is more important to Josh than Yankee wins and his family.