2. Philadelphia 76ers
The team that poses the second greatest challenge to the Milwaukee Bucks this coming season is the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philly have one of the oddest rosters you will ever see.
In an era of small-ball, where teams have pivoted to playing smaller lineups with players who can space the floor better and up the pace of play, the Sixers have gone the other direction by assembling an extremely tall roster.
Not much needs to be said about the threat Joel Embiid poses to the Bucks. Whenever these teams have met, and Embiid has been available to play, he’s been an absolute menace on both ends of the court.
Even with Robin Lopez coming in now to help the Bucks match-up better with him if, and when, his brother, Brook, goes to the bench, Embiid is still vastly superior in talent to either guy. The Bucks are going to have a hard time containing Embiid’s scoring near the rim, and his ability to clean up the boards no matter who is on the floor.
Beyond him, the Sixers also added Al Horford in free agency this summer.
As we discussed with Boston, Horford was key to anchoring the Celtics’ defensive scheme that crowded the paint and made it extremely difficult for Giannis Antetokoumpo to drive and score at the rim. With his addition to complement Embiid, the Sixers are going to be nearly impossible to score on around the basket, especially when he and Embiid are on the floor at the same time.
The big question mark around the Sixers, though, is how the rest of their roster will gel together.
They lost an elite shooter at shooting guard with J.J. Redick going to New Orleans in free agency this summer. His replacement, Josh Richardson, is not as dynamic of a shooter from three as Redick was. That loss of shooting could be a major issue for a team that has a real lack in shooting on-paper.
Tobias Harris, who they also re-signed during the summer, is not as good as the player he’s essentially replacing either in Jimmy Butler. Butler was their key guy in many major points of their playoff run this past spring while Harris struggled to do much of anything in those games.
Philly also faces serious question marks at point guard, where Ben Simmons is presumably their starter. He needs to take a substantial leap forward with his game this season if they’re going to realize their potential.
Their bench is also a major concern given that it consists of few established guys, and it could be as weak as the Lakers depending on how things break out.
The Sixers are the ultimate question mark, even over someone like Boston. They possess a starting five that, if everything clicks, could be better than any other team in the NBA. However, as we saw in their playoff run this past spring. their pieces are a very unusual fit. It’s far from a certainty that this team can realize their potential.
Given their size, and the players they have to create a defensive scheme that could shut down the paint on both sides of the court, Philly poses the greatest threat to the Bucks on their path to the Eastern Conference crown. If they can control the pace, and limit the boards better than Toronto did against Milwaukee this past spring, they’ll be extremely difficult to beat.
The Bucks better be developing alternatives on offense to counter what Philly could do to them.