Philadelphia 76ers
1 Biggest problem: The Sixers can't get healthy
Heading into the start of the season, expectations were at an all-time high for the Philadelphia 76ers. After adding Paul George and retooling the roster around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, many believed that the Sixers were finally going to emerge as a legit championship contender this season. However, it's almost as if the opposite has transpired so far this year for the Sixers. The Sixers currently are tied with the Utah Jazz for the worst record in the league at 1-7. The biggest problem for Philadelphia right now is that they can't get healthy.
So far this season, Paul George has missed time, Joel Embiid has missed time, and now Tyrese Maxey is expected to miss a couple of weeks. This is clearly not a formula for success and is the biggest reason why the Sixers have underwhelmed so far this season. Not only are the Sixers not a championship contender so far this season but they're not even relevant in the Eastern Conference. Perhaps most importantly, if the Sixers don't tread carefully, this is going to quickly end up as a lost season for the franchise.
Phoenix Suns
1 Biggest problem: The Suns may not have enough depth
At 8-1, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns have gotten off to an incredibly hot start to the season. This is a great sign of their potential moving forward and gives their fan base hope that perhaps this is the year where they finally put it all together. Through the first few weeks of the season, the argument could be made that Kevin Durant is a legit MVP candidate. Devin Booker and Bradley Beal have also been stellar. However, if there's one concern for the Suns, it's that they continue to have one of the lowest-scoring bench units in the league.
At this point, if the Suns do end up unraveling as a team, you'd have to imagine that a big reason why is going to be their lack of a consistent supporting cast around their big 3. The Suns have just the 25th most productive bench unit in the league and sooner or later, that could end up biting this team in the butt. There's going to come a point this season when the Suns are going to need depth. The question is, will this team's bench stand strong in that instance?