The Philadelphia 76ers came into the NBA season with a golden opportunity. LeBron James went westward, breaking the Eastern Conference wide open for the Sixers, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks. Philly lost to the Raptors on Tuesday, the Bucks last Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and the Celtics on opening night, and those games, along with a tight win over Charlotte on Saturday, exposed the Sixers’ glaring weaknesses.
The most concerning parts about those games are the manners in which Philly lost them: the Raptors handled the Sixers 129-112, the Celtics crushed the Sixers 105-87 and Milwaukee beat them 123-108.