The Philadelphia 76ers being around the same range as the Pelicans feels right.
As is the case with Zion, there's just no way you can count on Joel Embiid being available and fully healthy for a postseason run.
It's been 10 seasons since he was drafted, and the 76ers haven't been past the second round in that stretch. Several of their playoff runs have looked like 2024's, in which Embiid was hobbling his way to an early exit.
For his career, Embiid has averaged 27.9 points with a 7.0 box plus/minus in the regular season, while he's at 24.9 points with a 4.1 box plus/minus in the playoffs.
And after missing the bulk of 2023-24 with a knee injury, it's fair to be worried about a growing list of maladies for a player who's 7'0" and pushing 300 pounds.
But, again like Zion, Embiid is an unstoppable force when he's healthy. Even with a bad knee and while suffering the effects of a case of Bell's palsy, he had a 50-point performance this postseason.
And he now seems to have a running mate in Tyrese Maxey who has no problem rising to meet the game's biggest moments.
With those two alone, you almost have to put Philadelphia in the tier of title contenders (even if it isn't the top tier).
There's also some uncertainty with this team based on the fact that Embiid and Paul Reed are the only two players under contract for 2024-25. You can spin that positively and say Philly will use the cap space to add another star and then sign Maxey out of restricted free agency. But there's no guarantee the offseason goes the way the Sixers want it to.
Projecting this team's three-year future is as speculative as any other here.
