If you haven’t heard, the Philadelphia 76ers secured a pretty important win over the powerful Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, defeating LeBron James and company 108-91. The victory served as more than just a statement to the basketball world that the Sixers can compete with any team in the league; the computers took notice too.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s NBA projections, the Sixers are now the favorites to take home the NBA championship, with a 45% chance of making it to the Finals and a 24% chance to win the title.
The Sixes suddenly have an edge over both Western Conference powers that reside in Los Angeles, as the Clippers hold a 21% chance of winning it all while the Lakers maintain a 20% chance. The NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks hold a 19% chance, and after that there is a significant drop off with the Rockets (8%), Celtics (3%), Raptors (2%) and Jazz (2%) being the other teams in the mix.
Obviously, basketball games, and ultimately championships, are won on the court and not through computer algorithms, but it’s impossible to ignore the significance of Saturday’s win.
Adding to the impressive victory was the fact that the Sixers were down two of their best players in Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris stepped up in a big way while veteran Al Horford made clutch plays down the stretch. Shake Milton rose to the occasion in his first NBA start, while Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle continued to make contributions off the bench. The team’s elite defensive ability was on display and the Sixers got a statement win.
There’s still work to be done, and the Sixers will need to prove it on the court, but at the very least we should show some patience and give this team time to grow while also making sure to enjoy the ride. The Sixers are squarely in the mix, and that’s all you can ask for.