First, the Tennessee Vols bandwagon is wide open, and coming from someone who has been a Tennessee fan from the time that he was in the womb, jump on. If not, we will see you in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Next, the Philadelphia 76ers will win the 2020 NBA Finals and I will tell you why. Why? Defense. Over the crazy NBA offseason, the Sixers somehow procured the greatest defense to ever grace an NBA court. General manager Elton Brand received Josh Richardson out of a sign and trade deal with the Miami Heat for a player who hasn’t even made an appearance this NBA season (as of October 28th). I hope your baby is doing very well, Jimmy Butler. Then the Sixers front office made the biggest splash this offseason by signing Veteran big-man Al Horford. This is adding to the already astonishing lineup of Tobias Harris (the most underrated player in the NBA), Joel Embiid (best center in the NBA, you're a joke, Jokic), and of course Ben Simmons (2018 Rookie of the Year, the next Magic Johnson, and nicknamed “I’ll shoot a three-pointer if you can ever stop me from scoring 25 a night on 85% FG shooting in the paint”). All of this, plus the fact that the 76ers drafted Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, and 2 time Pac-12 Defensive player of the year, Matisse Thybulle.
So, with a starting 5 of Simmons, Richardson, Harris, Horford, and Embiid, Thybulle coming off the bench, and Mr. Mike “Gets into fights at Eagles games and has neck tattoos” Scott, the Philadelphia 76ers are scary to say the least. Let’s jump into the numbers just to prove all of you poor little Philly doubters wrong.
Start with the future Co-MVP Ben Simmons. Standing at a stout 6’10” and 230 lbs, this man can guard literally any position. He has been known to intimidate anyone on the court and lockdown superstars such as Lebron James. Last season, he had 112 steals, 61 blocks, and 525 defensive rebounds. Please keep in mind that this man is only 23. Next, Josh Richardson has been coming into form and has been said to be an up-and-coming defensive superstar. He had 79 steals (down from the previous year, in which he had 121) and 34 blocks (also down from the previous year, in which he had 75). While not impressive, he has much potential to be tapped into by the wonderful player development staff of the Sixers. Tobias Harris, who has finally come into his own and is morphing into an NBA superstar in front of our very eyes, can also hold his own on the defensive side of the ball. Though what is more important here is the two big men for the 76ers. Al Horford, also known as the only stitching that held the “team” of the Boston Celtics together, is a perfect match for future Co-MVP and DPOY Joel Embiid. Al Horford is the definition of hustle and ensures that not many people will be scoring in the paint this season against the Sixers.
To be fair, making it to the Finals should not be hard. Who is going to stand in the way? The Celtics? Maybe when you have a starting center that doesn't get concussions from walking into the ceiling. The Bucks? I mean yeah, maybe. But I would like to see Mr. Antetokounmpo score consistently in the paint on this defense. Honestly, I can’t even name any more teams in the East. So, for all you doubters out there, Sixers in 6 over the Clippers in June. Please prove me wrong.