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That powder keg of the Philadelphia 76ers – Play.it USA

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That powder keg of the Philadelphia 76ers – Play.it USA

The failure of the Philadelphia Trial, the reconstruction (almost) from scratch. The hope of having finally found the duo of the future in Embiid-Maxey, and of having added a third spearhead to this duo through free agency in Paul George. An air construction as big as a castle which, at least for now, has turned against the president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and against coach Nick Nurse.

After thirteen games – almost a month – of the regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers are in last place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 2-11. Yes, you read that right. Two wins and eleven losses (worst in the entire NBA together with Washington) for a team that aims to compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The only victories? Against the somewhat questionable Charlotte Hornets and against the Indiana Pacers after a overtime on a night of grace for Tyrese Maxey. November 11th and October 27th respectively. Round the line, the victories chapter is over.

It’s obvious that something in the City of Brotherly Love isn’t working. And it is something that goes beyond the injuries (partially staggered) suffered by the three undisputed stars of the Pennsylvania team.

Why all this?

To try to get to the bottom of the crisis that the Sixers are experiencing at the beginning of the season, we must first highlight what is not working in Nick Nurse’s system… nothing. It seems that any solution, any invention, is destined to fall on deaf ears.

A not excellent team (last year in mid-table both in terms of… offensive that for defensive rating) cannot afford to make mistakes. Not that much, not that often. Which, however, at the Wells Fargo Center the spectators have seen done too many times.

In the 2024-2025 season, offensively, the Philadelphia 76ers are:

  • last in offensive rating (104.2)
  • last in points scored per game (103.3)
  • last in field goal percentage (42.8%)
  • 29 breaths and 30 in three-point field goal percentage (49.6%)
  • last in effective field goal percentage (49.6%)
  • last in assists per game (21.2)
  • 28ths out of 30 in assist to turover ratio (1.46)

To these we can add the data of rebounds (39.7 per game, 29th) and of pacethe number of possessions played in a game: 96.6, 27th in the entire league. In short, we are faced with a team that has little rhythm, little “desire to play”. And that when he plays, he isn’t efficient at shooting. Not exactly a winning recipe.

In the defensive half of the field the situation improves, but not by much:

  • 20esimi in defensive rating (114.5)
  • 16th in points conceded per game. (112.3)
  • 28th in field goal percentage allowed (48.2%)
  • 19esimi in three point field goal percentage allowed (36%)
  • 28th in two point field goal percentage allowed (57.2%)
  • last in effective field goal percentage allowed (49.6%)

There is no point in drawing conclusions when they are so obvious. When you play with the worst attack in the league and one of the worst defenses, it’s normal that after 13 games you find yourself in the bottom of the table. The question now is another: will they be able to get back up? And if so, how quickly?

The performance of key players

After the latest defeat, suffered against the not irresistible Miami Heat, Nurse showed up late at the press conference. He explained the setback this way:

“We had a little confrontation in the locker room. I won’t go into detail, but I’m happy to answer any questions about the match. Was it a useful comparison? I’ll answer this question after watching the next game. This is the famous crisis meeting, which some teams organize in difficult times. We need to improve on several things.”

And when asked if the problem was the defense, Nurse responded:

“We also have to do better in attack, turning the ball over, respecting the instructions. We have to believe that these players are better shooters and scorers than they are showing right now. We need them to step up and do their jobs.”

In short, the head coach himself admitted it (not that a great interpreter was needed to say it): the Philadelphia 76ers have officially entered crysis mode. Yes, Embiid’s return certainly helps. But the absence of Tyrese Maxey to direct traffic still remains burdensome – indeed at the moment almost insurmountable. And everything is made more difficult by the alleged tense relationships between the guard and the former MVP center. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Maxey harshly criticized Embiid’s attitude in a team meeting.

“Tyrese Maxey would have made Joel Embiid face his responsibilities, encouraging him to be punctual for team activities and underlining how he is always late for everything.”

He will be out for at least another week, and the task now for Philly is to contain the damage. Also because the former Kentucky player was by far acting as the absolute – and only – protagonist of the Sixers’ season. Before his leg injury, he was averaging 27.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. High numbers resulting from an even higher shooting volume. Just think of the three-point percentage, 28.6%: by far the worst figure of his career, during the season in which he shot the most triples ever (11). This is the price you pay when you are forced to carry the fate of the franchise on your shoulders.

Of Embiid and George, 3 and 7 games played respectively, it is almost useless to dive into an analysis of the numbers. Too few minutes on the legs, very few together, to find a chemistry that is sufficient to achieve a victory. Paul George is trading at historically low numbers for his career:

  • 16.7 points per game, never so few since 2011-2012 (second year in the NBA, excluding 2014-2015 in which he recorded only 6 games before a serious injury)
  • 39.6% from the field, worst percentage of his career
  • 28.8% from three, worst percentage of his career

Needless to say he will recover, he’ll figure it out. But seeing him in such difficulty still makes a bit of an impression. For Embiid it’s 14.7 points per game (in his rookie season he scored 20.2), 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1 blocked shot. Almost all of them were the worst in their entire career. In short, he could have returned to the field better, also given the performance off the parquet.

In this dramatic situation, it doesn’t help that the famous luxury wingmen have been reduced to a very marginal role. The veteran Kyle Lowry is now forgotten (6 points in 24 minutes on average), as is his colleague Eric Gordon (5.7 points in 18 minutes). The offseason additions – KJ Martin and Reggie Jackson – basically don’t see the field.

The European Guerschon Yabusele is not very effective, while Kelly Oubre Jr. averages 13.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, not extraordinary numbers when he has had a lot of space on the pitch and many opportunities to express himself without the gravitational attraction of the three stars of the franchise. Same as Caleb Martin, stolen from rival Miami, who has disappointed so far: 11 points and 5.6 rebounds in 33 minutes.

The only positive note? The rookie Jared McCain. In the last 6 games, he has been the driving force of the team, averaging 25.2 points and 4 assists on the scoresheet. And the averages are no less impressive: 100% from the foul line, 44% from three with almost 10 attempts from behind the arc. For now the much criticized “TikTok dancer” is the only light in the darkness of Pennsylvania.
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