After beating Boston 106-103, the Sixers are 6-1 and, two weeks into the season, the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They were top five in the league in offensive and defensive rating entering play Wednesday. Yet they still seem decidedly under the radar after the Bucks’ and Celtics’ offseason moves sucked all the oxygen out of NBA Twitter.
On the other hand, Harden’s drama with President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey was its own miniseries. Maybe that’s why Embiid smiled when I asked him about being able to work out the kinks this year without the glare that has accompanied the team the last few years, after hiring Doc Rivers in 2020. Not getting past the second round cost Rivers his job. But the team that beat Philadelphia last season looks even stronger on paper after getting Jrue Holiday and Porziņģis, while the Sixers are hoping for addition by subtraction.
“Obviously, those teams made a lot of improvement,” Embiid said. “Boston, they got a lot better. They look like the best team in the NBA by far. Good for them. Milwaukee too. Obviously adding Dame is huge. He’s amazing. That combination of Dame and Giannis, pretty good. Unstoppable. We’re just worried about ourselves. New coach, new system, bunch of new guys. Just trying to get everybody up to speed and see what we can do. I’ve said it so many times — it doesn’t really matter who’s on the team, I always believe I have an opportunity to win. Obviously, this comes down to staying healthy, which hasn’t happened every single freaking postseason of my life.”