Who will win more games this season, the Lakers or Sixers?
Cann: Having the luxury of continuity and playing in a weaker conference gives the Philadelphia 76ers the clear edge here. Last season post all-star break the Sixers lost a total of 5 games. They really found their stride. Losing late season additions Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova will hurt but have a healthy Markelle Fultz with a rediscovered jump shot should help negate their losses.
Rookie Landry Shamet is a sharp shooter, he shot nearly 44% from beyond the arc during his college career. Zhaire Smith shot 45 percent, although he isn’t expected back until Christmas time. The addition of veteran Wilson Chandler will have a positive impact on both sides of the floor. The Sixers have a great opportunity to build on last year’s success.
The Lakers will improve considerably, that’s what happens when you add Lebron James to your team. He just doesn’t have the supporting cast. With an arguably better team last season, in a weaker conference James and the Cavs couldn’t top the young Sixer squad.
That was with Joel Embiid only playing 63 games and Markelle Fultz being a complete non-factor. The Lakers just don’t have enough shooting to beat quality opponents on a nightly basis in the west. The brilliance of LeBron will still make this closer than it should be, though.
Kotsifis: The Sixers. I would take Philly to win more games against Los Angeles even with a handicap of five games. In my mind there can be no comparison between the win totals of these two teams.
Philadelphia is a team that made the Eastern Conference Semi Finals last year and has two generational talents in Embid and Simmons. The rotation players are well adjusted in their roles and even if their core players do not progress as expected, they will still be around the top of the Conference in April. Above all though, they play in an extremely weak Conference where they will regularly face tanking teams like the Hawks, the Magic, and the Knicks.
On the other hand the Lakers are an intriguing mix of veterans, youngsters and LeBron James. Every time LeBron changed teams, an adjusting period was needed for his teammates to get accustomed to the new reality. I expect a lot of shuffling in the lineup until coach Walton finds a working synthesis. Making matters worse is the fact that the Lakers compete with powerhouses like the Warriors, the Rockets, the Thunder, the Jazz and the Spurs. No way they are getting more W’s than the Sixers.
Patel: The 76ers will win more games this year. Simmons, Embiid, and the crew will have an year under there belt heading into this season and will only improve from there. They’ll finish as the #2 seed in the East with around 56 wins. Lakers will finish around 54 wins.
Allen: I’m going to be bold here and say the Lakers. Any time LeBron James has made the move to a new team, he’s made them so much better. Winning is the only way the King knows. Although the Lakers probably won’t make a serious playoff run, I do believe LeBron will lead them to a playoff appearance. They have some great young players who are on the verge of breaking out like Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma who both had big campaigns last season. Add LeBron into that equation and both those players immediately just became better.