NBA Champion Boldly Predicts 76ers Will Be Outplayed by Another Eastern Conference Contender

It’s not uncommon to say one NBA team is better than another.

But it is unheard of to think a team will be better than another when there is only one threat on the team. Retired NBA guard Jeff Teague was on his podcast, Club520, and made an eye-popping prediction. Teague believes that the Miami Heat will have a better record than the Philadelphia 76ers. 

“I’m rolling with the Heat, better season than the Sixers. Nobody stopping Giannis, bro. Wiggins can guard Jaylen Brown," Teague said.

At some point players need to stop making these insane comments for clickbait. Yes, clickbait, because there is no way Teague believes in his heart of hearts that the Heat are outplaying the Sixers. What gives him that idea? Because they have Giannis Antetokounmpo? Or maybe it’s because they also added Tim Hardaway Jr. to the mix? Oh apologies, it must be because they have Andrew Wiggins and Bobby Portis.

This is the same Heat team that struggled to make it to the Play-In Tournament for the third straight year. Antetokounmpo wanted out of Milwaukee because there was no future for him to win a championship. Well, sorry to say he just walked into the same situation in Miami.

Teague claims no one is stopping Antetokounmpo, but who is going to stop Tyrese Maxey? Who can handle LeBron James? If Embiid is healthy, is Antetokounmpo going toe-to-toe with him?  When it was just Antetokounmpo running the show, his team didn’t fair well. So how much has changed now that the logo on the jersey is different? Even without the Sixers' offseason additions, they still managed to take down the Boston Celtics in the first-round of the NBA playoffs last season.

No one on that Miami roster has the ability to create for themselves besides Antetokounmpo and Wiggins. It seems like the team will have to work through the former Bucks superstar in hopes that it takes eyes off everyone else. 

Let’s look at the Sixers' roster. Every single starter has the ability to put the ball in the basket. Four of the five starters for Philadelphia averaged over 20 points last year. Even though Embiid played in 38 games, he averaged more than 26 points. Miami traded away most of their assets to acquire 'The Greek Freak,' so their roster is vastly depleted of scorers.

Two of the Heat’s top scorers are no longer with the team, which makes the argument even harder to defend. It's hard to see how they can keep up with this new-look Sixers roster.

While the Sixers improved in every aspect, the Heat did the opposite and are just trying to fill the holes left from the Antetokounmpo trade. With Teague’s comments, it’s going to be interesting to see how well these two teams match up when the season starts. 

Join The 76ersRoundtable Community

Head over to the 76ersRoundtable page and hit the "Join" button at the top of the page... it's completely FREE! You'll have the opportunity to engage with other 76ers fans who live and breathe the team, share your thoughts on the organization, and more. If you're asked to sign up or download the Roundtable app... that's free too.

J'Mar Smith is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected].