The Sixers have started off the season poorly, as they’re currently at 4-6 and in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. This start has seen losses to the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the first two games.
Not only that, but they’ve also managed to lose to the Wizards, Knicks, and even the San Antonio Spurs. With a roster that was supposed to feature depth, defense, and shooting, the team hasn’t shown much of any of those.
The Good for the Sixers
Third-year guard, Tyrese Maxey, has picked up where he left off last season. Currently, Maxey is averaging 24.9 points per game on 48.9% field goal percentage and 44% from the three-point line. In addition, Maxey is adding 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists, as well as 1.0 blocks per game. He’s become a true star for this Sixers team and a rising star in the league.
Maxey has been one of the most important, if not the most important, Sixers so far this season, and because of this, he is on the floor 37.9 minutes per game. Currently, that’s the fourth-most minutes in the league. Maxey really exploded upon the arrival of James Harden last season, and he’s become even better this season. He’s easily the best thing going for the Sixers.
Until this past week, James Harden looked to be past the injuries that have bothered him the past two seasons, most notably the hamstring issues that limited his mobility. To start the season, Harden is averaging 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists per game. At 44.1% from the field, Harden is right in line with his career shooting percentage, but his 33% from three is below what he’s shot for his career. That number will likely come up a bit, as Harden was doing way too much to start the season and then settled down into his role.
The only issue with Harden is that he’s currently out for a month with a foot injury. That issue may have come from playing him 36.8 minutes per game. At 33 years old and coming off two injury-plagued seasons, it clearly wasn’t the best idea (We’ll get to that in a minute).
The Bad for the Sixers
To start, it’s the Sixers’ record. Losses to open the season to the Bucks and Celtics, who are supposed to be the top two teams in the conference, aren’t really all that bad when you consider their teams. Losing to teams like the Wizards, Knicks, and Spurs is where it’s become a problem. Their defensive rating of 113.0 currently is in the bottom half of the league. With players like Joel Embiid, PJ Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, Daniel House Jr., and Matisse Thybulle, the Sixers were supposed to feature a deeper bench and better defense. That hasn’t been the case so far.
Players like Thybulle and even Paul Reed hardly see the floor. With Embiid playing 34.5 minutes per game, in the six that he’s played, there are limited minutes, but against smaller, more athletic teams, the 6’9″ Reed is what they need, especially since he’s the only player over 6’7″ on the roster, other than Embiid. Reed has a high motor, is all over the floor, and, while sometimes playing recklessly, does being hustle and defense against more mobile teams.
The same can be said for Thybulle, who has been the invisible man since the start of the year. Bringing in Melton almost assured Thybulle of seeing fewer minutes since Melton is just as good of a defender and even more productive in scoring as well as shooting from beyond the arc.
The Ugly for the Sixers
Frankly, this isn’t anything new; it’s the coaching of Doc Rivers. The biggest issue with River is his insistence on using his starters for loads of minutes, with a poor rotation and lack of care for matchups. As soon as players like Embiid start to get going in a rhythm, Rivers pulls them to the bench. Other players, young and athletic and good defenders, like Matisse Thybulle and Paul Reed, and even De’Anthony Melton, aren’t seeing as many minutes as they should be.
Two good examples of Rivers’ mismanagement are James Harden and PJ Tucker. In the first two games of the year, Tucker, at 37 years old, was playing 35 minutes per game. Way too many for a guy his age. He was brought in for his defense, shooting, and toughness which won’t be on display in the playoffs if Rivers keeps piling on the minutes. Over the past few games, he’s seen his minutes decrease, but that’s more of the team having to rotate more, with Embiid having missed the past three games.
Harden is another player coming off of two years where he’s battled leg injuries and was seemingly able to get a full, healthy off-season in. He has been playing 36.8 minutes per game up until his injury. While Harden has been a minutes machine over most of his career, at 33 years old, coming off the injured time he’s had recently, you would think that the coach would give him some sort of rest.
The Sixers brought in players like Melton, House, Harrell, and Tucker to add depth to the roster so that its stars wouldn’t be overworked throughout the regular season yet, to start the season, that’s exactly what Rivers has done. If he stays with his current model, Rivers will be missing Embiid, Harden, and Tucker, to say the least, at some point during the season, as well as burning them out prior to the playoffs.
The real focus on the “ugly” is that, much like his whole career, Doc Rivers has failed to properly manage the team, the roster, rotation, and the game. He’s disappointed on multiple occasions with good rosters that have been given to him (See Orlando, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia).
Doc Rivers has not developed young players, and the ones that do succeed under him (Maxey and, to an extent Rajon Rondo) have done so on their own merit, not from anything his direct contribution. An argumentative and belligerent coach, when questioned, doesn’t seem to get how to manage the team and will be the downfall of the Sixers this season, going forward.
If the “ugly” continues, the Sixers, its team, its players, and its fans will all be in for a long, painful year.
