The offseason additions were underwhelming
During the offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers added PJ Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House, and Montrezl Harrell – a solid four players that were expected to bolster the team’s rotation and depth. On opening night, this was essentially the team’s bench – to go along with Georges Niang.
But, overall, the Sixers’ bench was quite underwhelming. Tucker led all scorers among the team’s “new additions.” He finished with six points and four rebounds. Philadelphia’s “bench” unit only scored 11 points on the night.
To measure that number up, Boston’s bench finished with 34 points on the night. When the Sixers upgraded their roster during the offseason, the hope was that they would be able to improve their bench. And while that was the case “on paper,” the Sixers continued to struggle in that aspect on opening night.
It quickly became clear that the Sixers may still need to tweak the roster and add another scorer ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. Despite Tyrese Maxey, Harde, and Joel Embiid combining to score 72 points, the Sixers had little other help.
If it wasn’t for Tobias Harris’ contributions, the Sixers would’ve gotten blown out. I’m not sure Philadelphia has solved their supporting cast issue from last season.