The Philadelphia 76ers were looked at as one of the contenders in the East to start this season. They had one of the best big men in the game in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons as a burgeoning star at point guard, Brett Brown as a promising coach and the pieces built around them to make a run at the Eastern Conference crown.
The way many looked at it, it was going to come down to them and the Boston Celtics. Fast forward to Wednesday night and the 76ers were blown off the court by the Brooklyn Nets 122-97 in Brooklyn. After that loss, Brett Brown said his team are not among royalty in the East right now. The 76ers are talented, but Brett Brown may be on to something with his team. Although it's early in the season, Philly has some issues they have to work out before they're ready to make the leap to elite.
The one big issue everyone thought about going into this season was the shooting. In today's NBA, you need to be able to spread the floor and with Embiid inside, more shooting would allow him space to perform on the block. So far Embiid has performed well, but it hasn't been because of the shooting allowing him room to operate. Currently the 76ers are shooting 33% from the three-point line, which is 22nd in the NBA.
Consider these numbers include JJ Reddick shooting 37.9%, Robert Covington at 42.2% and Landry Shamet shooting 38.3%. Other than these three shooters, guys like Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons are non-factors from distance. Add into the equation Dario Saric is shooting a career-worst 23.2% from the three-point line and there has to be some wonder as to what they can do come playoff time. The 76ers can run with the best of them with their athletic lineups they can put on the court, but they have to be able to run a halfcourt offense. That means being able to from distance.
Along with the shooting being an issue, the turnovers have been as well. Last season, the 76ers averaged 15.9 turnovers a game, which was last in the NBA. Despite the high rate of turnovers, the 76ers still made it to the second round of the playoffs.
This season it was expected they would get better in that department, especially with the further development of Simmons at the point guard spot. Well so far, the Sixers have not improved in that department. They are averaging 16.1 turnovers to start the season this year and they are creating less turnovers than they did last season. For a team looking to win the NBA's Eastern Conference, they have to be better with the basketball. It may still be early in the season, but if they don't get a handle on these turnovers, they could cost them when things get critical come playoff time.
The shooting and turnovers have to improve, but the key player that needs to improve is Ben Simmons. So far this season, his assists are down along with his points per game. He is shooting the ball less this year, seemingly wanting to get more people involved. While that is commendable as a point guard, Simmons has to score more.
Outside of Embiid, he is the biggest mismatch on the court, yet he does not exploit it enough. Simmons seems more satisfied with passing the basketball to someone else rather than making the play himself. Sure, sometimes it's good to get others involved, but Simmons has to learn the balance between getting others involved and going to get his own. He is the second star on this team and there is no way he should be averaging 13.9 points per game, which is down from his 15.8 points per game he averaged last season.
The 76ers have a lot of components that a championship team has. They have the talent, the size, the speed and the athleticism to make things happen in the East.
What they don't have, however, is the shooting and the composure just yet. It will be interesting to see how this team evolves over the season with valuing the basketball, but one thing Sixers management may want to do is look into trading for some shooting down the line.
If they are able to solve their shooting woes, then that all but increases their chances of giving the Boston Celtics a run for their money. If they decide to stand pat and the shooting doesn't improve, then they could be doing exactly what they did last season: watch the Celtics advance in the playoffs.
Brett Brown has some decisions to make and some adjustments to make as well.
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