Either way the Sixers and the Bucks are clearly ahead of everyone else in the East, so keeping or adding solid supporting members even at great long term cost had to be the way for them to go for them. You have to go for the title when you have a realistic shot at it.
They are?
Embiid is a terrible leader who can't stay healthy, Simmons consistently chokes come playoff time, adding Horford will only further clog up the paint (which was already too clogged up as it is). They lost the only closer and "alpha" guy on the team (Butler). They also lost their best outside shooter (Reddick) - a guy who's mere presence was crucial in creating the space for Simmons and Embiid to operate.
I think people are dramatically underestimating the importance that Reddick and Butler had on that team last season. It was the first time the Sixers have ever shown serious competitiveness in the playoffs, and the sole reason for that was the addition of Jimmy butler - who averaged 22 / 7 / 6 through that series with the Raptors and gave the Sixers the toughness and winners mentality that they needed to have a fighting chance. Now Butler is gone.
The Bucks should be way better then the Sixers this year. I wouldn't be shocked if the Pacers are better. I wouldn't even be shocked if the Celtics are better.
Embiid is the Sixers alpha dog. His on/off numbers were ridiculous in the Toronto series (+12.9 when he was on court, -15.6 when he was off court). In game 7, the Sixers were +10 in the 45 minutes Embiid was on court and -12 in the 3 minutes he was off court.
The Bucks got worse by losing Brogdon and they have no one to defend Embiid. The Sixers should matchup really well against them.
Simmons/Richardson/Harris/Horford/Embiid vs.
Bledsoe/Mathews/Middleton/Giannis/B. Lopez
I expect the Bucks to win the regular season by quite a bit but then reality will hit in the playoffs.
You are consistently high on the 76ers and you very well could be right. I do think it is a fair take to think losing Reddick and butler they will be worse than adding Horford and Richardson. They have a lot of wildcards like Simmons or zaire that could make them incredible, but they are about 10-1 to win the league compared to 5-1 for the bucks
Betting odds are betting odds. Don't see a reason to put much weight in them (e.g. Houston's betting odds are a lot higher than reality). The East is significantly weaker. Its debatable how the Sixers compare to last season but the Raptors, Celtics and even Bucks are worse. No one on here has even attempted to refute my assertion that the Sixers should match up very well against the Bucks.
There's another thread on here about the Ewing Theory and the Celtics. I think there's a good chance it applies to Butler and the Sixers. Harris and Simmons should be better without Butler. Losing Redick certainly hurts their offense but it helps their defense. Horford being able to backup Embiid should be huge for them. The Sixers 2019 numbers with Embiid off the court weren't pretty.
Min OffRtg DefRtg NetRtg
Regular (Embiid on) 2154 112.5 104.9 7.6
Regular (Embiid off) 1807 107.0 110.5 -3.5
Playoff (Embiid on) 334 113.8 93.0 20.8
Playoff (Embiid off) 242 98.5 120.1 -21.6