Tobias Harris has high expectations for the Philadelphia 76ers heading into the 2019-20 NBA season.
After bowing out in the Eastern Conference semifinals in consecutive seasons, the Sixers made some major moves over the offseason -- including bringing in Al Horford, adding Josh Richardson in a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat, and re-signing Harris to a five-year max deal -- to put themselves in position to compete for a Finals appearance, and even an NBA title.
"I think for sure we're going to be at the top of the East,'' Harris said of the Sixers, via the New York Post. "That being said, it's hard to win games in the NBA. I know it's going to take a lot of chemistry and work from every guy on the team. We have big goals for ourselves as a team. We're ready for it."
Philadelphia will have no shortage of competition at the top of the East, as the defending champion Toronto Raptors and the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks still project as formidable foes, as do the Indiana Pacers, and the new-look Brooklyn Nets, who made major waves across the league's landscape this summer by inking both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to four-year deals.
"It's great competition,'' Harris said of the current state of the Eastern Conference. "I love how the NBA is balanced. I love how everybody wants to go get their shot. I still think the East is quality, having a lot of great teams, too [like the West]. It will be a great year of basketball. It will be fun for the fans to watch."
For what it's worth, Harris wasn't especially surprised by the splashy moves made by Brooklyn.
"I wasn't surprised,'' Harris said of the Durant and Irving signings. "You heard a lot of rumblings before about it. I didn't know for 100%, but if I had to make my guess, I would've said Kyrie and Kevin were going to the Nets. Kind of all season long you heard different rumblings. That would've been my educated guess."
James Ennis, Harris' Sixers teammate, is also confident about Philadelphia's chances this coming season, but he took his declaration of confidence in his team a step further than Harris did.
"The East is going to wide open," Ennis said when discussing why he decided to re-sign with the Sixers in free agency. "We had a good chance last year. Kawhi [Leonard] is gone. He went to the West. So we are going to walk to the Finals in the East."
It certainly won't be as easy for the Sixers as Ennis made it sound, and nothing is set in stone in the league, as a timely trade or injury issue could drastically change the outlook of the season in the blink of an eye. But with that said, Harris, Ennis, and the rest of the Sixers should feel very good about their opportunity to end their 19-year long Finals drought heading into the '19-20 season.
