Welcome to another edition of Tom’s Title Tiers! New year, same schedule. First thing every Monday morning, your inbox will have my tiered rankings of every title contender with a longer focus on one team per week.
A reminder: This is my subjective list based largely on objective data. This is not a pure, analytical ranking. You’re here because you want to know what I think, to get inside my brain a little bit. Consider this a weekly report of what I see on film; what I glean from the numbers; what I hear on the phone; what I read in the news; what I feel.
This week’s featured squad: the Philadelphia 76ers.
Here’s a quick rundown of each tier.
Tom’s Title Tiers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a complete team, no notes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just missing that one thing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ One move away from being one move away.
⭐️⭐️ So much has to break right.
⭐️ Sooo you’re saying there’s a chance.
This week, I wrote quick preseason takeaways for each title contender while spilling some more ink on the Sixers. Did Paul George’s injury force me to downgrade the Sixers’ title chances? And which team’s preseason shot profile vaulted them into another stratosphere?
Let’s find out.