{"id":253432,"date":"2026-07-28T02:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T02:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/253432\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T02:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T02:40:12","slug":"after-sixers-lebron-james-signing-sizing-up-eastern-conference-nbc-sports-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/253432\/","title":{"rendered":"After Sixers\u2019 LeBron James signing, sizing up Eastern Conference \u2013 NBC Sports Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

LeBron James has switched coasts and conferences with his move from the Lakers to the Sixers.<\/a><\/p>\n

What kind of competition will James and the Sixers have in the East? Below is a summer rundown on the 10 teams that made the playoffs or play-in tournament last season. And an honorable mention should go to the Indiana Pacers, who may very well improve dramatically from last year\u2019s 19-win season with Tyrese Haliburton back on the floor.<\/a><\/p>\n

Pistons\u00a0<\/p>\n

Detroit racked up 60 wins in the 2025-26 season, four more than the No. 2 seed Celtics. They fell to the Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The Pistons have added John Collins,<\/a> Isaiah Joe<\/a>, Taurean Prince, Gary Harris and rookie guard Ebuka Okorie. Tobias Harris<\/a>, Isaiah Stewart<\/a>, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser <\/a>have gone elsewhere. All-Star center Jalen Duren\u2019s restricted free agency remains unresolved.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to properly assess the Pistons until the Duren saga ends. They\u2019ll hope the net result of their moves is an upgraded supporting cast around Cade Cunningham and deeper playoff progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Celtics\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joe Mazzulla won 56 games last year \u2026 his lowest number in four seasons as Boston\u2019s head coach.<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, the Celtics\u2019 main summer transaction was trading Jaylen Brown to the Sixers <\/a>in exchange for Paul George and draft picks. They\u2019ve also signed Mitchell Robinson <\/a>and Mike Conley Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be shocking at all if the Celtics stayed near the top of the East standings, but we imagine they\u2019ll need good health for Jayson Tatum and the 36-year-old George. Boston would also benefit plenty from continued growth by young players like Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Knicks\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Knicks will enter next season with close to the same roster as their championship-winning team. The backup center picture has changed with Robinson out and Andre Drummond shifting from Philadelphia to New York.<\/a> Third-string big man Ariel Hukporti left the Knicks and joined the Sixers.<\/a><\/p>\n

The team\u2019s thorough dominance of the East playoffs last year should not be overlooked.<\/p>\n

After falling behind 2-1 in Round 1 against the Hawks, the Knicks won their next 13 games. They polished off a second-round sweep of the Sixers with a 30-point victory in Philadelphia.<\/a> The East Finals concluded with the Knicks\u2019 37-point demolition of the Cavs in Cleveland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At least for the time being, the Knicks have a leg up on the Sixers in terms of knowing the exact recipe for playoff success with their current roster. They may be more reliant on one star, but Jalen Brunson is fresh off a Finals MVP performance and the Knicks certainly don\u2019t lack talent around him with players like OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cavaliers\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cavs missed out on another James homecoming<\/a> and haven\u2019t yet done much of note this summer. They picked up Croatian forward Mario Hezonja on a one-year deal. <\/a>Dean Wade left Cleveland to sign with the Sixers.<\/a><\/p>\n

As has been the case the past few years, it would be great for the Cavs if Evan Mobley took a step or two forward offensively. Mobley\u2019s three-point percentage dipped to 29.7 last season. The Cavs again appear likely to lean heavily on the Donovan Mitchell-James Harden<\/a> backcourt.<\/p>\n

Raptors\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Raptors\u2019 trade to bring back Kawhi Leonard is pending because of the NBA\u2019s investigation into the Clippers\u2019 reported salary cap circumvention.<\/a><\/p>\n

In the event the deal goes through, Leonard is the kind of player who would considerably raise Toronto\u2019s ceiling when healthy. The Raptors were excellent on defense last year, finishing fifth in the league in defensive rating. <\/a>Toronto drafted forward Allen Graves <\/a>with the 19th overall pick and signed Kyle Anderson in free agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hawks\u00a0<\/p>\n

Atlanta\u2019s had an intriguing offseason after returning to the playoffs last year. The Hawks might wind up ahead of some teams with flashier names in the standings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their moves include drafting Kingston Flemings (No. 8) and Zuby Ejiofor (No. 23) and acquiring Luguentz Dort,<\/a> Aaron Wiggins<\/a> and Devin Carter.<\/a> Can Jalen Johnson keep improving following his first All-Star nod?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sixers\u00a0<\/p>\n

No other team in the East matches the Sixers\u2019 pure star power. Between James, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers have an absurd 36 All-Star selections (James is responsible for 22 of them, but the other three are all multi-time All-Stars).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sixers aren\u2019t flawless. The sheer volume of offensive talent doesn\u2019t guarantee everything will flow smoothly from the jump. <\/a>Embiid\u2019s health is still highly important and he\u2019s struggled to avoid injuries for a sustained stretch since his 2022-23 MVP season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s quite realistic for the Sixers to aspire to win the East. They\u2019ll plan to start by earning home-court advantage for the first time in Nick Nurse\u2019s tenure as head coach and giving themselves an easier path in the playoffs. The Knicks were unquestionably the superior team, but fatigue was a factor for the Sixers in last postseason\u2019s second round after their Round 1 battle with Boston.<\/a><\/p>\n

Magic\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Magic blew a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against Detroit and then replaced head coach Jamahl Mosley <\/a>with Sean Sweeney.<\/a><\/p>\n

Again, it\u2019s very valid to wonder whether Orlando can be an adequate three-point shooting team. The Magic made 34.3 percent of their three-point attempts in the regular season (27th in the NBA) <\/a>and 32.8 percent in the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hornets\u00a0<\/p>\n

After starting 11-23 last season, the Hornets went 33-15. They had the NBA\u2019s best offensive rating and fourth-best defensive rating over that period.<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlotte has made major roster changes this summer, shipping out LaMelo Ball <\/a>and Miles Bridges.<\/a> Naz Reid, Grayson Allen, Royce O\u2019Neale, and rookies Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson<\/a> are among the new Hornets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heat\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before all the Sixers\u2019 action, the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade<\/a> was the talk of the NBA offseason. Bobby Portis and Tim Hardaway Jr. are also on board in Miami. <\/p>\n

The Sixers and several other East squads seem to be more well-rounded than the Heat, but Antetokounmpo is a bona fide superstar, Bam Adebayo is a three-time All-Star with six All-Defensive Team selections, and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra habitually extracts the most he possibly can from his team.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LeBron James has switched coasts and conferences with his move from the Lakers to the Sixers. What kind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18831,4794,69,1002,71,70,10793,10794],"class_list":["post-253432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-lebron-james","tag-nba","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-sixers-analysis","tag-sixers-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}