Both teams have pretty similar title odds according to Vegas with all the Harden trade stuff going on. And ironically these are the 2 teams linked for the Harden trade.
But lets assume Harden gets traded somewhere else for swaps and 2nd rounders.
Which team the Clippers with Kawhi/PG13/RUSS or the 76ers with Embiid/Maxer/Tobias
if they both make the finals who would be the bigger stunner…
the West is a lot more stacked but the East is more top heavy so for these 2 teams to make the finals they will need to be upsetting the favorites
Sixers
Sixers, because if they made it past the 2nd round that would mean they got rid of Embiid.
Philly by far. A healthy Clippers team I can very very easily see making a Finals run, Kahwi and Paul George are still elite as fuck when healthy.
The 76ers? Even when perfectly healthy they have the whole James Harden thing to deal with and we all know how Embiid performs in the playoffs.
6ers because they’re not as talented and their talent doesn’t translate to the playoffs. Embiod stylistically is an uphill battle as a #1 option for a playoff team.
76ers
The sixers seems so dysfunctional I’ll be surprised if they even make the playoffs.
76ers
Clippers. West is stacked and the Sixers have the MVP.
76ers people can talk about clippers health but we’ve seen Kawhi and pg both go on a nice run every few years so it’s not like they aren’t capable of going deep.
76ers may have the worst roster around embiid since he’s been this good and they are clearly the 3rd best team in the conference at best you can argue Miami, knicks and Cleveland will all be better.
Clippers easily. 76ers have the reigning MVP. Them making the finals wouldn’t be that surprising.
Clippers have more top end talent, have the better bench, and Lue to me is one of the better coaches in the league. But with that said, I think they match-up badly with the Nuggets.
The Nuggets are less likely to make it to the WCF than Boston/Milwaukee is by nature of the conferences themselves…Nuggets have far more competition. So for that reason, I’m going with the Sixers…I don’t see them getting past Boston at all. I think they can beat Milwaukee in a series, but I have no clue how they beat Boston in a series. Their only hope for me is that Boston or Milwaukee doesn’t finish as a top 2 seed and they have to face each other before the ECF. If that happens and Milwaukee beats Boston, I can see Philly making the finals. I think they match up OK with Milwaukee.
I can actually see a fully healthy Clippers team make a Finals run. I don’t really see them being healthy but it’s at least a possibility.
Sixers would be a much bigger surprise. I just don’t think it’s possible for that team as constructed.
Sixers.
If the Clippers were guarenteed to be 100% healthy then it should surprise no one to see them make it to the finals.
The Sixers have been completely healthy with multiple different roster iterations and havnt sniffed the ECF in years.
Even with the Clippers fully healthy I would definitely be surprised if they make the finals
Yeah I think the constant injuries have almost caused “healthy Clippers” to get weirdly overrated due to mythical factor
They’re far from invincible either way
There’s no denying it would be surprising but would it be more surprising than the sixers? I don’t think so
Oh they sniffed it, they just kissed it goodbye when Kawhi and Tatum buried them
Also Embiid wasn’t healthy going into their recent series with the Celtics, and he wasn’t healthy when they played the Hawks either. Simmons hurt in the bubble too.
Like the Clippers, they’re never healthy.
2019 was the only post season the Sixers were close to healthy.
What injuries did they have in 2021 when they had that embarrassing choke to the Hawks in the 2nd round? Or last year since they won the one game that Embiid missed during the Celtics series.
Joel was playing on a 2nd grade MCL sprain during the playoffs last year, and in 2021 he was playing with a meniscus tear.
Sounds like you made up your mind on this one before you did even a simple google search
Sixers because I don’t think they have the talent. Clippers have the talent, it’s more about health.
Kawhi has a degenerative knee issue so you can’t just discount health, it would be much more surprising if they were actually healthy come the playoffs.
Even with his knee issues he’s still been able to go on deep runs. Embiid literally can’t stay healthy for 2 playoff rounds how will he do it for 4 that’s not even mentioning his roster doesn’t even have the talent.
The Sixers by a lot. The Clippers’ problem had largely been health. The Sixers’ problem is that Embiid and Harden’s games don’t translate well to playoff basketball.