The 2022-23 NBA season has been underway for several weeks, and every team has played at least 10 games, so it’s time to start looking at some cumulative statistics and trends. The 76ers, who were expected to have the opportunity to dominate the Eastern District before the season, did not perform as expected. The current record has not yet shown the expected value of this luxurious lineup. Started to be mediocre.
Harden is currently temporarily unable to play due to a strained right hamstring. Embiid also missed some games due to previous illness. The Sixers must find a way to win without Harden as soon as possible. Let’s discuss some Sixers games Among the interesting observations.
Changes in Tobias Harris’ role and responsibilities
In any professional sport, it’s a big step for a player to be willing to embrace a shift in his role, and that’s exactly what Tobias Harris is doing. With Harden, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey serving as the top three ball holders, Harris must change his position if the Seven Sixers want to go to the next level. Cooperate to seek team integration.
Harris’ opportunities to actively hold the ball and serve as the core of the tactics have declined, so he must do more tasks such as running without the ball, catching and shooting, or empty-handed cuts. Harris is currently averaging 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Among them, the steals and true shooting percentage of 56.3% are career highs.
Harris averaged a career-high 5.2 outside shots per game and made 39% of his three-pointers, but the number of shots per game dropped to a new low in six seasons. In the 2021-22 season, Harris’ three-point shot percentage was only 26%, compared with 22% in the previous season, and this season Harris raised the proportion to nearly 50% in one go, and his shooting percentage and efficiency are also very good.
As expected, Harris’ usage rate dropped to a career-low 18.4 percent at the time of writing. Harris hardly got a chance to play singles, and his scoring average was the lowest in the past six seasons. The 30-year-old Harris used to be the main force averaging more than 20 points per game. Although he is no longer the core of the main force, he is willing to sacrifice his own data and possession to help the team. This is very rare in the current NBA.
Failed to top the league’s best defense
During the off-season, the Sixers’ reinforcements focused on strikers who can shoot and defend, such as De’Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker and Danuel House. importance.
“We have to focus on defense,” Embiid said on media day. “The team’s goal is to be the best defensive lion in the league. We came out in the fourth quarter to dominate the game, and we had to start with defense.”
Playing the best defense in the league is a very lofty goal, but the current Sixers are still a long way from this goal. According to official NBA data, the Sixers currently ranks 13th in the league with a team defensive efficiency of 111.1, and their opponents rank 6th in the league with an average of 107 points per game. The defense of offensive and defensive transitions is their main problem. The points lost per fast break are as high as 16.2 points, ranking first in the league.
If the Sixers want to kill the blood in the East, as they have always emphasized, defense will be the focus. It may be too far to become the first in the league, but in terms of the team’s offensive ability, it is quite good to be in the top 10. Both Harden and Embiid missed some games due to injuries. Once they play steadily, the team will get more help on offense and defense.
The Sixers’ team defense ranked 12th in the league last season, and that will be the focus of Philadelphia’s observations this season.
Give De’Anthony Melton more chances
There are not many ball handlers in the Sixers. Harden, Maxey and Shake Milton are the main ball handlers, and Harden is currently absent due to injury. Fortunately, during Harden’s injury, De’Anthony Melton jumped out to share the responsibility of the court for the loss, serving as the second ball-holding point after Maxey. Melton is currently averaging 2.7 assists per game. In the first game against the Knicks, which was Harden’s absence, Melton posted 9 assists in a single game.
In response to tactical needs, the Sixers sometimes use Melton as a screener, and he can also find opportunities to attack by himself in the next move.
When Melton was asked if he would get more opportunities to organize with the ball, he also said: “The current team has a lot of shooters in the lineup, Tobias, Matisse, Tyrese, PJ, Shake and Danuel, etc. We are cutting and scoring. Finding someone in transition, my job is to keep the ball flowing. And I love that job.”
