Despite the Philadelphia 76ers turning in the offseason of offseasons, there lies a massive reason as to why they are not penciled in as a favorite to win the Eastern Conference. Aside from the defending champions being in their way, the East has emerged as a haven of extreme win-now operators and budding contenders.
Veteran squads led by perennial All-Stars still lord atop the East, but teams like the Indiana Pacers and the Orlando Magic, previously having modest projections, have become feel-good stories last season, with the former even making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, it seems like the latter intends to follow that same track.
Potential 76ers rival keying in on ambitious goal for next season
Paolo Banchero, Orlando’s franchise centerpiece who made the All-Star team for the first time last season, certainly intends to lead his squad over the 76ers and the others currently expected to battle for the pole position in the East.
On ESPN’s First Take segment, Banchero said he believes that the Magic can go toe-to-toe with the elite teams in the conference.
We feel like we're right there. We're right there with all those (elite teams in the East). I remember last year, we started the year off as a top-two, top-three seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a play-in team and drop out the top of the East. We finished strong and got the fifth seed and had a chance to really grab the two seed at the end of the season. We were right there last year. We got better this year. I got better; all of us got better. We got some new pieces that are going to help a lot. We're trying to make some noise. We should easily be a top-four, top-three team, and have a chance to win the East.
Orlando, owners of the second-best defense in the league last season, have tremendous potential as a collective, but Banchero is jumping the gun way too early on this one. The Magic, as currently constructed, don’t nearly have the kind of firepower that can raise their floor and ceiling. It would take them more than Banchero taking another leap to be in the discussion among the elite teams in the East.
The 76ers, however, need to exercise a lot of caution against the Magic. They will be a tough-out in the playoffs thanks to their ethos on defense and inherent length, something that can pose serious issues for teams reliant on monotonous offenseive schemes.
The Magic do have the makings of a budding powerhouse, but it’s unlikely to erupt into actuation next season. For the meantime, the Philadelphia 76ers will have bigger fish to fry, something that, unfortunately, does not include Orlando.
At least, not yet.