Although they revamped the roster around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the Philadelphia 76ers must start planning for other improvements to their style of play. Adding Paul George is great. But it’s going to take more to compete for the title.
The 76ers hit free agency hard, adding George, Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson. They re-signed Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry, and KJ Martin and added Jared McCain and Adem Bona in the draft. This year's roster is significantly better than last year's and its newcomers have familiarity with others on the roster, expediting the team's chemistry to a degree.
However, the Sixers are not the only team that's improved in the hopes of catching the Boston Celtics. Whether it's betting on a big-time roster addition (like Mikal Bridges on the New York Knicks), internal improvement (like the Indiana Pacers or Orlando Magic), or an already established core of veterans (like the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, or Miami Heat), there’s no shortage of teams that could either knock Philly off or nip at its heels.
As the Sixers try to reach the caliber of a championship-worthy team, they can’t afford to rest on their star-studded laurels. To make the most of their roster, Philly will have to win in the margins and put its players in roles that utilize their full talent. Here are three ideas for how.
Make Joel Embiid an effective outlet passer
The 76ers would benefit from scoring earlier in the shot clock. Embiid isn’t exactly built to play that type of style, or at least not as the one pushing the pace up the court himself. Given his already-major presence on the boards —one that will be really big until the Sixers get more size around him — he could get the Sixers to play faster by learning the art of outlet passing.
Teams that have players who can grab rebounds and take off up the floor give their teams a greater shot at getting easy chances to score. Embiid is capable of this but it’s not the best strategy for the big man to use over the course of a full season. Getting the ball up to teammates for easy buckets can get him pockets of rest in between plays, prevent opponents from getting out on the break and, obviously, put points on the board for the Sixers.
Kevin Love's talent as an outlet passer was a perfect accessory to his rebounding prowess. Other legends of the game like Wes Unseld and Bill Walton utilized their strength and height advantage to look over the defense and fire up-court passes. Nikola Jokic is basketball's best passing center for many reasons, and his one-handed full-court dimes are one of them.
Embiid doesn’t have to become comfortable tossing 80-to-90-foot darts like Love did but he should start using his playmaking eye the second he gets the ball. Even getting the ball to Maxey slightly in front of halfcourt can generate an easy look, providing a runway for the speedy guard to run back-peddling defenders into the ground. Philly has plenty of guys who like to get downhill or hit threes in transition.
The targets will be there for Embiid, whose penchant for randomly attempting flashy passes suggests that he wants to be more of a playmaker. While still a niche skill, a pinch of outlet passing can elevate the 76ers' offense.
Use Tyrese Maxey as a spot-up shooter more, especially in the corner
As badly as the 76ers need players who can thrive off the ball alongside Embiid and Maxey, they should also try to create an infrastructure where the two stars can be used as off-ball threats, too. Maxey, in particular, is a spot-up-shooting artist who didn’t get many opportunities at the canvas where he does his best work last season.
Maxey has a strong case for being the best corner three-point shooter in basketball. In each of the last three seasons, he has taken at least 45 attempts from the corners and made at least 50 percent of them. No other players have done that. Only two other players, Stephen Curry and Spencer Dinwiddie, have tallied two such seasons in that time. Yet the Sixers barely got the chance to get him looks from there in 2023-24 because he had to handle the ball and run the offense so frequently.
Maybe with more volume, Maxey's unreal efficiency would slip. But also, maybe it won’t! The 76ers owe it to themselves to find out.
Embiid, George and Martin are capable of generating their own shot and kicking it out. Oubre showed flashes of it during his first season with the Sixers. Lowry, Philly’s best passer, reads the floor really well. There should be enough reliable scorers and/or passers to let Maxey cook more off the ball, which also weaponizes his quickness better. His speed is already a lot to deal with when he's bringing the ball up. Off of closeouts, he puts defenses in a pickle. Play up on him too high and watch him speed by you or sag off to account for the speed and watch a three-ball go over your head.
James Harden tapped into Maxey's spot-up shooting excellence just as well as he did Embiid's pick-and-pop/roll talents. According to PBP stats, Maxey shot four percent better from deep with Harden on the floor and shot way more threes, vaulting his three-point attempt rate from .313 to .460 — a staggering difference. The Sixers don’t have a playmaker like Harden anymore. But they should have plenty of talent to have a similar effect on Maxey's shot profile.
Prepare Ricky Council IV for a rotation spot
Council looked like an NBA-caliber wing when he got extended minutes in his rookie season, though the minimal sample size doesn’t immediately indicate he should have a rotation spot. It does indicate, though, that the Sixers should invest heavily in his development.
Getting value from cheap contracts is key in the new CBA landscape. On his current contract, Council will make below $2.5 million in each of the final three seasons of his deal. Whether that contract becomes a steal for a productive player or a detail that makes a trade financially viable is totally up to how much Philly helps Council improve.
The Sixers don’t have to look far for a young, athletic player who can make plays with the ball and defend multiple positions. Council is already great at getting to the foul line and has improved his shooting greatly over the past year. The 23-year-old has big goals for himself yet is pragmatic about what he hopes to get out of his second NBA season.
“For my individual goal, I want to start small. So, for now, I’ll say I just want to crack the rotation and play consistently on a night-to-night basis,” Council told Mat Issa of Sports Talk Philly. “I have bigger goals than that, but I’m going to wait until training camp to get a feel for where I’m at because it’d be crazy to say what those goals are if I’m not even in the rotation.”
Although every season is massive for the 76ers, they also have to keep the future in their sights. Nick Nurse hinted at the team relying on their young players over the marathon of the regular season. While McCain and Bona may need more time to get familiar with the NBA game, Council already has experience and plays a position where Philly needs depth. Rotation spots won’t be given out but Council has what it takes to earn one.
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