Philadelphia 76ers: 3 concerns on troubling start to season

Philadelphia 76ers concern #1: Lack of star power

In years past, the 76ers have supported lineups with multiple all-stars, with their best lineup in recent memory containing Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid. This season, Philly is down to only Embiid and Harris, who are a respectable one-two punch but have the tendency to get hot and cold.

In their most recent loss to the Knicks, coach Tom Thibodeau sent double and triple teams at Embiid almost every time he touched the ball, daring a perimeter player to beat them. This strategy shut the big man down, as Embiid finished with only 14 points and six rebounds on two-of-seven from the field.

Harris had a good game for himself, almost recording a triple-double with 23 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in 33 minutes. As for the rest of the team, if someone like Seth Curry or Furkan Korkmaz doesn’t strike fire from long distance, where are their points coming from? Philly finished the game 12-of-41 from beyond the arc, with Korkmaz and Curry hitting only two of their 12 attempts.

With Embiid being doubled, he will need to assert himself as a dominant shot creator for others, getting them open looks on the perimeter. Even then, the 76ers are putting their trust in largely streaky shooters, with no primary shot creator besides second-year man Tyrese Maxey, who is a sparkplug point guard at heart.