The Philadelphia 76ers are 2-9, sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference. They rank 28th in offensive rating, 21st in defensive rating and 26th in net rating. Injuries have been a problem, Joel Embiid has only played in one game, Paul George has been in and out of the lineup and Tyrese Maxey is currently out with a hamstring issue. However, that does not change the fact that this has been a nightmare start for Philadelphia.
Let’s start with Paul George. In games in which Paul George has played this season, the Philadelphia 76ers have a net rating of -10.1 in 146 minutes with George on the court. In 100 minutes with George on the bench, the Sixers net rating is -1.6, not good but vastly better than when George is on the court. This is a small sample size and I am sure water will find its level but that does not mean there is not any worry about George. He has had a rough start to the season, which the counting stats tell us. Averaging 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists on shooting splits of .43/.31/.87, George’s assist numbers are back to where they were from 2021 to 2023 after only averaging 3.5 assists per game last season but he has not made shots at a consistent level. Philadelphia is only scoring 102.4 points per 100 possessions in the 146 minutes George has played this season. That would be dead last in the NBA, the Jazz are 30th in offensive efficiency at 104.5 points per 100. George has not played all that well to start his 76ers tenure, which is a problem because a lot of the 76ers offseason additions have had rough starts to the season as well.
The role players Philly filled out their roster with have had up and down starts to the season as well. Let’s start with Caleb Martin who is averaging a career high 11.6 points per game this season. One of my worries coming into the year was the 3 point shot of Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. In my Sixers preview from August, I wrote “neither (Martin or Oubre) shot the 3 ball all that well (last season), Martin was at 35%, which is solid and will be of help to the Sixers but is not anything special and Oubre was at 31%.” Martin has shot the 3 pointer at 30% this season, down from a year ago. Martin’s breakout came with the Miami black magic so it is not all that surprising that he has struggled to start the season. This is just who Kelly Oubre is and has been. He is a player who you want to like, a 6 foot 7 wing who is a skilled player is a good thing but Oubre’s production just has not been there. He will always score at a highish clip, 14.6 points per game this season, but the efficiency just has not been there. A career 33% three point shooter with a career 54% true shooting, Oubre is hitting just 26% of his threes this season and his true shooting at is 49%.
Andre Drummond has been a disaster for the Sixers this season. The counting stats are fine, averaging 9.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game but the on/off splits are rough. According to PBP Stats, in 254 minutes with Drummond on the court, the Sixers have a net rating of -18.4, for context, Utah has the worst net rating in the league at -13.0. Meanwhile, Cleaning the Glass projects the Sixers are a 6 win team in Drummond’s minutes this season. In fact, Drummond has not been a positive plus-minus in a game this season, his best plus-minus was 0 on October 27th. You may be thinking, why would the Sixers sign him if it is this bad with him on the court? To which I would say, because it has never been this bad. Over the last 2 seasons, the Bulls net rating with Drummond on the court was 1.9 in 2,200 minutes, better than when he was off the court. During Drummond’s first stint as a Sixer in 2021-22, the Sixers net rating was 0.5 in 902 minutes with Drummond on the court. Not great but not disastrous. It has been a small sample but we are nearing a point where the Sixers may need to ditch Drummond all together.
Of course, none of what the 76ers do matters if Joel Embiid is not on the court and Embiid made his return to play on Tuesday. It didn’t look good. The big fella had 13 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and a block on 2/11 shooting and 1/5 from 3 point range in 26 minutes against the Knicks. He looked slow and rusty, he clearly needs time to get back into gameshape. Yet, I am not sure the Sixers have time to get Embiid back into gameshape, which is a problem. I am not worried about Embiid but boy was Tuesday night a rough showing.
Let’s end on a positive note, Jared McCain is a good player. In the four games that Tyrese Maxey has missed, McCain has stepped up scoring 18 points, 27 points, 23 points and 34 points in those games. He has shot the ball well with shooting splits of .46/.39/1.00 and a true shooting percentage of 59%. He can be a good scorer off the bench for this Sixers team. The playmaking has a ways to go, just 2.3 assists per game early in the season but that will only improve with time as the game slows down for him. He has averaged half a steal per game on defense so while the defense has a ways to go as well, he likes to compete, which is never a bad thing. I think the Sixers found themselves a good player in Jared McCain.
The 76ers want to win the NBA championship this season, that is what they have built this roster to do. Yet, 11 games in, Philly is 2-9. The start to the season has been a huge concern for the 76ers and they need to turn it around fast because it is going to get late quickly.
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