The Philadelphia 76ers have ripped off a 4-1 start and sit tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference through five games. The only blemish came on the second night of a back-to-back, and they were down two starters for that one.
That’s the kind of start a team with huge expectations would take in a heartbeat. But even with the wins coming, the first week-plus has also exposed a few early issues that could matter as the season stretches out. Philadelphia is getting by, not cruising, and there are some clear pressure points already showing.
One of the biggest is the bench. Through five games, the Sixers are last in the NBA in bench scoring at 19 points per game.
That’s a hard number to ignore, even for a roster that can lean on a loaded starting group. The stars can carry a lot, but not every night.
Over 82 games, the reserves have to give the starters relief and keep the offense from stalling.
Anfernee Simons gave them exactly that in the fifth game of the season against the Indiana Pacers. Coming off the bench, he hit six threes and finished with 20 points, helping Philly stay afloat when the starters were having trouble. The Sixers are going to need more of that kind of burst from Simons, and they’ll need other bench pieces to chip in as well.
The workload distribution has also tilted heavily toward the starters. Nick Nurse has always been comfortable leaning on his top guys, and that has shown up early this season.
Philadelphia’s starters have played more minutes than any other team’s first five, while the bench has logged the fewest minutes in the league. That balance may need to shift a bit if the Sixers want to keep their rotation fresher and get more from the second unit.
Another area that needs cleaning up is three-point shooting. Philadelphia is hitting just 32.6 percent from deep as a team, which puts them near the bottom third of the league.
The starters have been especially shaky, connecting on only 31.1 percent of their attempts from long range, good for 21st in the NBA. The bench has been better at 35.8 percent, but that hasn’t been enough to lift the overall number much.
There are at least a few bright spots in that department. Dean Wade is at 42 percent from three, while Jaylen Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both at 40 percent.
After that, though, every other player on the roster is shooting 35 percent or worse from beyond the arc. It’s not panic time, especially with this many shooters on the roster, but the Sixers have room to grow there.
They’ve been able to survive the cold stretch so far. That won’t always be the case.
The glass is the other concern, and it cuts both ways. Offensively, the Sixers are pulling down just nine offensive rebounds per game, which ranks second-worst in the league, ahead of only the Washington Wizards.
That lack of extra possessions is hurting them, especially because they’re generating only 12.8 second-chance points per game, which ranks 28th out of 30 teams. Only the two L.A. teams are scoring fewer.
Defensively, the problem is just as clear. Opponents are grabbing 13.8 offensive rebounds per game against Philadelphia, the fourth-highest mark in the league.
That gives opponents additional looks while the Sixers aren’t creating nearly enough of their own. For a team that isn’t oversized, improvement there will have to come from a full-team effort, both to create more second-chance opportunities and to keep the other side off the offensive glass.
In Other News...
Knicks Send A Roster Message Right Before Facing The 76ers
The Knicks made a quiet but telling roster move before their meeting with the 76ers, declining to pick up Pacome Dadiets fourth-year team option. The decision turns the former first-round pick into an unrestricted free agent in June and adds another layer to a New York roster that has been sorting out its long-term plans while trying to stay competitive right now.
Dadiet had already been the subject of preseason trade discussions, so this was not a sudden shift in direction. By passing on the option, the Knicks created salary space for next season and sent a clear message about where the young wing stands in their plans, especially after he struggled to carve out consistent minutes. For the 76ers, it is another reminder that even a division rivals roster decisions can ripple into the broader Eastern Conference picture. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Open NBA Cup Play With Sixers Missing A Key Piece
The 76ers will open NBA Cup play at home against the Knicks without Jaylen Brown, who has been ruled out because of left knee patellar tendinopathy. Head coach Nick Nurse said Browns knee soreness surfaced after the recent game, and the guard was unable to take part in pregame shootaround, leaving Philadelphia to adjust on the fly for a matchup with added early-season stakes.
Nurse did not offer a timeline for Browns return, which leaves the Sixers waiting to see how long they will be without one of their key pieces. In the meantime, the coaching staff is weighing lineup options, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Dean Wade among the candidates to step into the starting group and help absorb the loss on the wing. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Ganseys First Sixers Offseason Could Make NBA History
Mike Ganseys first offseason running basketball operations in Philadelphia has already given the 76ers a very different look, and the front office overhaul has been impossible to miss around the league. The new team president helped steer a summer that brought in Jaylen Brown and added depth with Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a series of moves that has the Sixers positioned to contend now while also keeping an eye on what comes next.
The early returns have been strong enough that Gansey is already being mentioned in rarefied company, with chatter building around a possible run at NBA Executive of the Year. If that happens, it would not just reflect one busy offseason, but a level of league-wide agreement that is hard to come by in a job where every major decision gets picked apart from multiple angles. [Read more 🡒]