The Overtime X account shared a photo of newly-signed third star Paul George in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and asked "Who's stopping this team?" -- to which former NFL star WR Antonio Brown responded: The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers.
While the Sixers made the biggest signing of the offseason, they haven't exactly upgraded their roster enough to truly be considered a threat in the Eastern Conference. A 21-point-per-game scorer isn't going to move the needle past the Cs, but it may not even move them past the New York Knicks, who strengthened their own roster by trading for Mikal Bridges.
George to Philadelphia was probably set in stone by the time he and Joel Embiid not so subtly implied they would team up this summer during ESPN's NBA Countdown ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Embiid gestured that he'd need help to get to the heights Boston reached.
But if PG really going to get them there? It's doubtful. A second-round elimination still feels like the Sixers' most likely postseason outcome.
Boston Celtics lock up league-best core long-term
Boston made far bigger moves than Philly did during the free agency period's first few days. Locking up Jayson Tatum and Derrick White is a far more significant development than the Sixers signing George.
Or any other transaction this offseason for that matter.
All the Celtics needed to do was keep their status quo. They did just that, bringing back not only Tatum and White, but Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta as well. Now, they're once again definitively the best squad in the Association.
Good for Philadelphia to narrow the gap. Ditto for New York. It probably just wasn't enough to slow down Boston's attempt at Banner 19 in 2024-25. If anything, Boston's biggest competition might come from out west.
