How the Philadelphia 76ers stack up against the Pacific Division

Rounding out our Philadelphia 76ers divisional series.

The Philadelphia 76ers are projected to finish near the top of the Eastern Conference next season. With the most talented starting five this side of Los Angeles, Brett Brown should have the elusive luxury of talent and cohesion — a luxury that has eluded him up to this point in South Philly.

Not only do the Sixers have a championship-caliber roster,  but Brown will have an entire training camp to make the pieces fit. It stands in stark contrast to last season, when Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris were thrown into the fire mid-season.

Here at TSS, we have broken down the Sixers’ current outlook against every team in every division for the 2019-20 season. Now we have reached the final installment — perhaps the most talented-laden division in basketball.

The Pacific.

Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns Projected Starting Five: 

• Ricky Rubio
• Devin Booker
• Kelly Oubre Jr.
• Dario Saric
• Deandre Ayton
• Other Notable Players — Mikal Bridges, Aron Baynes, Frank Kaminsky, Ty Jerome, Cameron Johnson

The Suns made undeniable improvements. Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric are positional upgrades, while Kelly Oubre showed great potential in his brief time with Phoenix last season. The Suns are making a valiant attempt to break out of their perpetual rebuild.

Alas, it probably won’t happen. At least not next season. While Rubio is a legitimate talent, his ceiling is limited as a point guard with sketchy shooting. He’s an upgrade over Phoenix point guards of the past — and he will take pressure off Booker — but in the end, he’s nothing special.

The frontcourt doesn’t project terribly well on defense. Baynes will provide a sturdy force in the second unit, but Deandre Ayton is still finding his footing as a defensive anchor. Saric, due to unavoidable athletic limitations, is a flat-out negative on defense.

Despite an effort to add veteran talent, the Suns will still rely almost entirely on Booker, Ayton and Oubre to generate points. The second unit will boil down largely to young, inexperienced players, which won’t slide in the cutthroat Western Conference.

The Sixers will naturally have the advantage as an experienced, talent-laden group. Joel Embiid thoroughly outperformed Ayton in last season’s matchups, while Horford will take Dario to town — on both ends.

Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson are as effective of Booker defenders as you’ll find, both possessing the length, quickness and attitude to hold the Kentucky product in check. Give Philadelphia a two-game season sweep.