Philadelphia 76ers: Reassessing the Sixers after the first quarter of the season

Reassessing the Philadelphia 76ers after the first quarter of the 2021-22 NBA season. 

The beginning of the season has been a tumultuous one for the Philadelphia 76ers. Having to deal with the Ben Simmons situation left uncertainty about the team playing at an elite level but they have persevered for the most part through the first quarter of the season.

The Sixers are currently in 9th place with an 11-10 record which is largely due to superstar Joel Embiid missing 10 games due to health and safety protocol. Injuries to other key players have also played a factor in the team’s slow start as both Tobias Harris and Danny Green have missed games.

Another factor is their inability to win at the Wells Fargo Center. So far the Sixers have compiled a 5-5 record at home while they went 10-1 at home last year during the first quarter of the season and only lost five total home games all of last season. The Sixers have also struggled in close games as they are 5-7 in games within five points with under five minutes to play.

To stress just how important Embiid is to the success of this team is an understatement. The Sixers are 8-3 in games Embiid has played in and 3-7 in the games he has missed. Health will be key moving forward for this team as they should be poised to make a run and get back atop the standings in familiar territory.

As expected, starting point guard Tyrese Maxey has truly emerged into a player who is capable of great things. Now that Embiid is healthy and back in the lineup, the duo will have the opportunity to develop on-court chemistry and develop a lethal 1-2 punch on offense that the Sixers desperately need. During the 10 games Embiid missed, Maxey averaged 21.3 points as he tried to keep the team afloat during Embiid’s absence.

General manager Daryl Morey must also decide what to do with Simmons and figure out whether he can still help the team and in what capacity. If he does decide to play, head coach Doc Rivers must come up with a game plan concerning the starting point guard position.

At this point it wouldn’t make any sense to relegate Maxey to a bench role considering how well he’s been playing. Simmons could possibly end up playing another position due to his size and versatility but at this point, Simmons is just hurting his career more than he is hurting the team as he could have taken advantage  to play and improve his value by proving that he has gotten over his poor performance in the playoffs and is willing to move forward and get better.

Currently, the Sixers are top-10 in the NBA in 3-point percentage, free throw percentage, and blocked shots but the area they suffer in and need to drastically improve is their rebounding as the Sixers are dead last  in the league in that category.

Embiid and Andre Drummond average double-digit rebounds and Harris is 3rd on the team with 8.4. Maxey has the next highest average at 3.8 per game. Rivers must emphasize the importance of being on the positive side of the rebounding margin as tit could mean the difference between winning and losing close games down the stretch. The guards will have to crash the boards and become more aggressive on the glass.

Now that Embiid is back, we can expect the Sixers to move up in the standings after their slow start and begin to solidify their spot as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference but it won’t be an easy task.