Who are the new top NBA contender now?

[Moranis]

I really like what Indiana has done.  If Oladipo can recover, they could be a real and legit contender that is basically 2 or 3 deep at most places (still could use another PF).

PG - Brogdon, McConnell
Wings - Oladipo, Lamb, Warren, McDermott
Bigs - Sabonis, Turner, Leaf, Bitadze

That team could really surprise.  The Warren absorption into cap space and Lamb moves were overshadowed by Brogdon, but add a lot of depth to the team.  And I really like McConnell as a back-up PG. 

[Silky]

doesnt matter what I believe, but based on previous years media perception there are one 2 contenders for the title next year.

Lakers
Sixers

[Moranis]

Tempted by Philly as league's best team right now.

Really?
What's the rest of their team look like? All I can think of right now is:
Embiid
Horford
Harris
Simmons

Did they get the kid from Miami after the trade got changed? Losing Butler and JJ are huge loses they were maybe their best playoff performers other than Embiid when he is healthy.

Honestly they look big and slow to me and in a half court game Simmons is a disaster! I don't think they are better than last years team, I don't like their team lol. I admit they should be good but I don't see them as a contender.

Richardson is a great fit (they get him from Miami).  Add him to the other 4 and they probably have the best starting lineup in the East top to bottom (at least on the same tier as the Bucks and Raptors).  Bench is a little light, but it is filling out nicely with the return of Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden, Mike Scott, and James Ennis and the additions of Kyle O'Quinn, Matisse Thybulle, and Raul Neto

[JBcat]

Tempted by Philly as league's best team right now.

They are going to be pretty tough.  I always thought on the C’s we were a tad small with Horford at center, and liked our lineup better when he was paired with Baynes.  Now Al gets to play next to a legit center in the starting lineup.  Horford did show signs of slippage at times last season though, and I wonder if he will show more decline.  I also wonder if they will have enough outside shooting. 

[Who]

Tempted by Philly as league's best team right now.

Really?
What's the rest of their team look like? All I can think of right now is:
Embiid
Horford
Harris
Simmons

Did they get the kid from Miami after the trade got changed? Losing Butler and JJ are huge loses they were maybe their best playoff performers other than Embiid when he is healthy.

Honestly they look big and slow to me and in a half court game Simmons is a disaster! I don't think they are better than last years team, I don't like their team lol. I admit they should be good but I don't see them as a contender.

I am not fully on board with them because I am not wild about the fit of the pieces. I don't like how Tobias Harris fits there and I am still worried about how Ben Simmons is difficult to play with in the halfcourt.

However, I am super impressed by their defensive talent. Joel Embiid and Al Horford as your backline is exceptional. Then Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons as talented perimeter defenders. That Philly team has a chance to be a monster defensive team.

And even with a ill-fitting group offensively, they should be able to score enough to be a major threat to win a title thanks to how talented their defense is.

Kinda like Toronto last year. Their defense carried them to a title despite a sputtering offense in the postseason.

[Stig]

tier 1: Raptors, 76ers
tier 2: Lakers, Bucks
tier 3: Denver, Portland, Rockets, Warriors
tier 4: Jazz, Celtics, Pacers, Thunder

Assuming Kwahi stays in Tornoto.
76ers made the real leap, Raptors veterans should age pretty well, Lakers looks very thin now but will become better with mid season trade, Bucks is probably slightly worse assuming the MVP stays at the same level. If you look at it, the west is more open than the east now.

[tazzmaniac]

Tempted by Philly as league's best team right now.

Really?
What's the rest of their team look like? All I can think of right now is:
Embiid
Horford
Harris
Simmons

Did they get the kid from Miami after the trade got changed? Losing Butler and JJ are huge loses they were maybe their best playoff performers other than Embiid when he is healthy.

Honestly they look big and slow to me and in a half court game Simmons is a disaster! I don't think they are better than last years team, I don't like their team lol. I admit they should be good but I don't see them as a contender.

I am not fully on board with them because I am not wild about the fit of the pieces. I don't like how Tobias Harris fits there and I am still worried about how Ben Simmons is difficult to play with in the halfcourt.

However, I am super impressed by their defensive talent. Joel Embiid and Al Horford as your backline is exceptional. Then Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons as talented perimeter defenders. That Philly team has a chance to be a monster defensive team.

And even with a ill-fitting group offensively, they should be able to score enough to be a major threat to win a title thanks to how talented their defense is.

Kinda like Toronto last year. Their defense carried them to a title despite a sputtering offense in the postseason.

Their fit last year wasn't that good.  Once they started giving the ball to Butler more that marginalized Simmons and Harris to some extent.  Horford, Richardson and Harris are better shooters and better off ball than Butler.  Horford being able to backup Embiid at the 5 is huge for them.  Losing Redick hurts but they've got enough shooting.  Signing Korver would certainly help them.  As you say, their defense should be dominant.  The main issue I see is how are they going to close out games offensively.  Does someone step up to be their go-to closer or will they just have to run their offense and hope something frees up?   

[dreamgreen]

Tempted by Philly as league's best team right now.

Really?
What's the rest of their team look like? All I can think of right now is:
Embiid
Horford
Harris
Simmons

Did they get the kid from Miami after the trade got changed? Losing Butler and JJ are huge loses they were maybe their best playoff performers other than Embiid when he is healthy.

Honestly they look big and slow to me and in a half court game Simmons is a disaster! I don't think they are better than last years team, I don't like their team lol. I admit they should be good but I don't see them as a contender.

I am not fully on board with them because I am not wild about the fit of the pieces. I don't like how Tobias Harris fits there and I am still worried about how Ben Simmons is difficult to play with in the halfcourt.

However, I am super impressed by their defensive talent. Joel Embiid and Al Horford as your backline is exceptional. Then Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons as talented perimeter defenders. That Philly team has a chance to be a monster defensive team.

And even with a ill-fitting group offensively, they should be able to score enough to be a major threat to win a title thanks to how talented their defense is.

Kinda like Toronto last year. Their defense carried them to a title despite a sputtering offense in the postseason.

Their fit last year wasn't that good.  Once they started giving the ball to Butler more that marginalized Simmons and Harris to some extent.  Horford, Richardson and Harris are better shooters and better off ball than Butler.  Horford being able to backup Embiid at the 5 is huge for them.  Losing Redick hurts but they've got enough shooting.  Signing Korver would certainly help them.  As you say, their defense should be dominant.  The main issue I see is how are they going to close out games offensively.  Does someone step up to be their go-to closer or will they just have to run their offense and hope something frees up?   

I like Simmons as a Point Forward not as a PG I disagree he can cover real PGs and I don't think Richardson can either so I would say they are weak in back court defense and strong in the front court when both Embiid and Horford are playing. Speaking of which what's the over under on how many games those 2 miss combined 50?

I don't have them ahead of the Bucks but equal with Toronto if KL comes back. BTW I think that Toronto team without KL is trash! Indy looks good but I think they lack star power.

[tazzmaniac]

tier 1: Raptors, 76ers
tier 2: Lakers, Bucks
tier 3: Denver, Portland, Rockets, Warriors
tier 4: Jazz, Celtics, Pacers, Thunder

Assuming Kwahi stays in Tornoto.
76ers made the real leap, Raptors veterans should age pretty well, Lakers looks very thin now but will become better with mid season trade, Bucks is probably slightly worse assuming the MVP stays at the same level. If you look at it, the west is more open than the east now.

That's a good breakdown.  I expect the Bucks will be top 2 in the regular season but I think they're somewhat less of a championship contender with the loss of Brogdon. 

[tazzmaniac]

Tempted by Philly as league's best team right now.

Really?
What's the rest of their team look like? All I can think of right now is:
Embiid
Horford
Harris
Simmons

Did they get the kid from Miami after the trade got changed? Losing Butler and JJ are huge loses they were maybe their best playoff performers other than Embiid when he is healthy.

Honestly they look big and slow to me and in a half court game Simmons is a disaster! I don't think they are better than last years team, I don't like their team lol. I admit they should be good but I don't see them as a contender.

I am not fully on board with them because I am not wild about the fit of the pieces. I don't like how Tobias Harris fits there and I am still worried about how Ben Simmons is difficult to play with in the halfcourt.

However, I am super impressed by their defensive talent. Joel Embiid and Al Horford as your backline is exceptional. Then Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons as talented perimeter defenders. That Philly team has a chance to be a monster defensive team.

And even with a ill-fitting group offensively, they should be able to score enough to be a major threat to win a title thanks to how talented their defense is.

Kinda like Toronto last year. Their defense carried them to a title despite a sputtering offense in the postseason.

Their fit last year wasn't that good.  Once they started giving the ball to Butler more that marginalized Simmons and Harris to some extent.  Horford, Richardson and Harris are better shooters and better off ball than Butler.  Horford being able to backup Embiid at the 5 is huge for them.  Losing Redick hurts but they've got enough shooting.  Signing Korver would certainly help them.  As you say, their defense should be dominant.  The main issue I see is how are they going to close out games offensively.  Does someone step up to be their go-to closer or will they just have to run their offense and hope something frees up?   

I like Simmons as a Point Forward not as a PG I disagree he can cover real PGs and I don't think Richardson can either so I would say they are weak in back court defense and strong in the front court when both Embiid and Horford are playing. Speaking of which what's the over under on how many games those 2 miss combined 50?

I don't have them ahead of the Bucks but equal with Toronto if KL comes back. BTW I think that Toronto team without KL is trash! Indy looks good but I think they lack star power.

Putting bigger, longer wing defenders on PGs is often an effective strategy.  Simmons may be the most versatile defender in the league.  Don't know about last season but the previous season he defended the 1 through 4 spots each over 20% of the time.  Not sure who you consider a real PG but Simmons put the clamps on Russell in the 1st round and then he was the primary defender against Kawhi in the 2nd round.  Don't know that much about Richardson but I haven't seen anything to suggest he can't guard most PGs.  Now maybe the small waterbug PGs would cause some problems but there aren't many of those especially on playoff teams.  They'll also have Embiid and Horford protecting the paint. 
Let's look at the guards on their competition in the East:

Bucks:  Bledsoe and Mathews.  Minimal concern. 
Raptors:  Lowry and Green.   Minimal concern. 
Celtics:  Kemba and Brown/Smart.  Somewhat of a concern but Simmons and Richardson's larger size should be beneficial.  Kemba will score some points but I expect him to do so inefficiently. 
Indiana:  Oladipo and Brogdon.  Somewhat of a concern but Simmons and Richardson's larger size should be beneficial. 

Any way you cut it, the Sixers no longer having Redick in their backcourt is a big upgrade defensively.  To have replaced him with Richardson, a good defender, just makes it more so. 

[Birdman]

Top 8 in East:
Milwaukee
76ers
Toronto if they keep Leonard
Indiana
Brooklyn
Boston
Detroit
Chicago

[GreenCoffeeBean]

Utah, Portland

[KGs Knee]

I expect Philly to be a dominant regular season team this year.  They'll probably be either the 1 or 2 seed in the east along with Milwaukee.  Even if Kawhi goes back to Toronto, I suspect they'll coast through the regular season, given the number of vets they have leading the team.  Toronto with Kawhi would still be the team to beat in the playoffs, though (at least as of this moment.

But Philly has two issues I see being a potential downfall for them.  First, Simmons is still a major liability in half-court sets, especially in the 4th quarter.  His lack of spacing allows the defense to cheat too much to the middle of the court.  Second, they don't have a true crunch time go-to scorer.  Embiid is easily their best scorer but it's really tough to rely on a big to be the closer.  In reality, it will probably be either Harris or Richardson who get a lot of those touches (I'd go with Richardson).  That might not sit well with Embiid.

[footey]

If Kawhi stays in Toronto, then it's Lakers, Raptors, Bucks and Sixers in some order

If he goes to the Lakers, then it's just the Lakers.

If Kawhi stays in Toronto or goes to the Clippers, I’m not even convinced the Lakers make the playoffs.

Man that would be sweet.

[footey]

I think everyone is under selling Milwaukee.  They had the best record, return with basically the same team, and a year better and wiser with Giannis.

I think they should be pre-season favorites. Unless Kawhi goes to LA, in which case I would definitely favor them to win it all, and could care less how they fill out the balance of their roster.