The Los Angeles Clippers have been struggling in their recent efforts to contend for titles, and last year was a dream turned nightmare. A season that should have seen the Clippers as a surefire giant in the West with a starting lineup of dynamic hometown heroes instead became one riddled with injuries and underperformance. 

Whether you were woken up in the middle of the night on Halloween Eve by the notification from Adrian Wojnarowski’s X account, or if you’ve somehow managed to escape the insufferable discourse surrounding it, you’ve probably heard the biggest news of the early season. The Philadelphia 76ers have (finally) traded former NBA all-star James Harden.

Some shrug off Philadelphia as a perennial tease that can’t get it done in the postseason, and I find myself vacillating between two questions: do they have a chance to capture the team’s first title in 40 years? Or will they crash out in the second round as they did last year and the year before?