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 stats and trends. The 76ers, who should have had 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 luxury lineup. It was starting to be mediocre.
Harden is currently temporarily unable to play with a strained right hamstring. Embiid also missed a few matches with a previous illness. The Sixers need to find a way to win without Harden as soon as possible. We discuss some Sixers games Among the interesting observations.
Changes in the role and responsibilities of Tobias Harris
In any professional sport, it’s a big step for a player to be willing to embrace a change in their role, and that’s exactly what Tobias Harris is doing. With Harden, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey serving as the top three holders, Harris must switch positions if the Seven Sixers are to move to the next level. Cooperate to seek team integration.
Harris’ opportunities to actively hold the ball and serve as the core of the tactician are diminished, so he has to perform more tasks like running off the ball, catching and shooting, or slashing empty-handed. Harris is currently averaging 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, among which his steals and 56.3% real shooting percentage are career highs.
Harris averaged a career-high 5.2 outside shots per game and made 39 percent of his three-point shots, but the number of shots per game dropped to a new low in six seasons. In the 2021-22 season, Harris’ three-point shooting percentage was only 26%, up from 22% the previous season, and this season Harris has increased the percentage to almost 50% in one go, and the his shooting percentage and his efficiency are also very good.
As expected, Harris’ usage rate is down to a career low of 18.4% at the time of writing. Harris barely had a chance to play singles, and his scoring average was the lowest in six seasons. The 30-year-old Harris was the main force averaging over 20 points per game. Even though he is no longer the core of the main force, he is willing to sacrifice his data and his possession to help the team. very rare in the current NBA.
He couldn’t get past the best defense in the league
During the offseason, Sixers reinforcements focused on forwards who could shoot and defend, such as De’Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker and Danuel House.
“We have to focus on defense – said Embiid during Media Day – The goal of the team is to be the best defensive lion in the league. We went 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 that goal. According to official NBA data, the Sixers currently rank 13 in the league with a team defensive efficiency of 111.1, and their opponents rank 6 in the league with an average of 107 points per game. Defending offensive and defensive transitions is their main problem: the points lost on the counterattack reach 16.2 points, first position in the league.
If the Sixers want to kill blood in the East, as they’ve always emphasized, defense will be the focus. It may be too far to become first in the league, but in terms of the team’s attacking ability, it’s good enough to be in the top 10. Both Harden and Embiid have missed games with injuries: once they play consistently, the team will receive more help in 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 aren’t many ball handlers in the Sixers: Harden, Maxey and Shake Milton are the main ball handlers, and Harden is currently out with an injury. Luckily, during Harden’s injury, De’Anthony Melton popped up to share upfield responsibility for the loss, serving as the second holding spot after Maxey. Melton is currently averaging 2.7 assists per game. In the first game against the Knicks, which was Harden’s absence, Melton had 9 assists in a single game.
In response to tactical needs, Sixers sometimes use Melton as a screener, and he can also find opportunities to attack himself on the next move.
When Melton was asked if he would have more opportunities to get organized with the ball, he also said: “The current squad has a lot of shooters in the lineup, Tobias, Matisse, Tyrese, PJ, Shake and Danuel, etc. We’re cutting and scoring. Find someone in transition, my job is to keep the ball moving. And I love that job.”
