Just a week ago, the Sixers were 16-11 and trending up in the standings.
Joel Embiid dropped 39 points in a win over the Indiana Pacers, the most he’d scored since a Game 6 loss against the New York Knicks
back in 2024. Paul George recorded a Sixers-high 35 points in a tight road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe were superb as the team swept a tough back-to-back.
The Sixers followed that up by dropping winnable games to the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls, followed by a drubbing from the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
With that loss to the Bulls, the team’s Big 3 moved to 0-4 on the young season. There’s been much consternation over that subject over the past few days — why can’t the team win with all three of its max players on the court together?
Even while the team sits at 16-14 and right in the mix for a guaranteed playoff berth — a spot many didn’t think they’d be 30 games in — the Sixers are still providing their usual amount of uncertainty and frustration. So, is it a Big 3 problem or something else? Let’s dive in a bit.
Let’s start with this simple fact: four games is an incredibly small sample size. No, they did not perform well together last season either, but can we really place much value on anything that happened last season when Embiid played 19 games, George played in 41 and neither looked like even a shell of themselves? You can if you’d like. This writer won’t.
The other thing is context. Nothing happens in a vacuum.
The Big 3’s first loss this season occurred in a double overtime game against the Hawks while both Embiid and George were still on stringent minutes restrictions. If Maxey makes a pair of free throws at the end of the first overtime, we’re talking about a gritty win and not a gutting loss. The second was a tightly contested game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Embiid was awful from the field and LeBron James went off late to seal the victory.
There’s been context missing from the last two losses as well.
The Nets started the season 3-16, but have gone 7-4 in their last 11. Over that span, Brooklyn has the best defensive rating in the NBA. They have a couple quality wins over teams like the Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Sixers were also missing three key rotation players that night in Edgecombe, Dominick Barlow and Quentin Grimes.
In Chicago, it was as simple as the Bulls’ bench destroyed the Sixers’ reserves to the tune of 59-12. Chicago’s fresh starters were able to close the game on a 10-0 run against a weary Sixers’ starting group. George had a poor shooting night (5-of-15) and Nick Nurse likely pressed the wrong button closing the game with Grimes over Barlow.
Are these excuses? Absolutely not. The Sixers had every opportunity to win all four of these games and they didn’t get the job done. Depending on how playoff seeding shakes out, any of those four games could be the difference between a guaranteed playoff spot and the play-in. They all could prove costly and the team will have nobody to blame but themselves.
The point is, throwing out a blanket “ The Sixers struggle when the Big 3 play together” take is oversimplifying things. It lets the other players on the roster, the head coach and, in a weird way, the individual members of the Big 3 off the hook.
As previously mentioned, we’re working with small sample sizes here, so keep that in mind with any lineup stats, but here’s one of the funniest ones, per PBP Stats:
The Sixers have a 2.01 net rating when Maxey is on the court without Embiid and George. They have a 6.56 net rating when all three are on the floor. We’re talking 81 minutes, which could be flukey, but that’s sort of the point being made — much of what happens over a four-game sample can be flukey.
Folks have pointed to Embiid’s defense as a cause for concern, but the difference is negligible — a 115.93 defensive rating with him on the floor, 114.53 with him off the floor. Opponents are shooting worse from two during Embiid’s minutes (52.07% vs. 55.36%), so it seems he’s having an effect at the rim. They’re shooting better from three (36.08% vs. 33.41%), which could be shooting luck or a sign that the team isn’t as cohesive on their rotations with Embiid playing.
All the arguments are out there. Maxey and George defer too much to Embiid. Embiid slows everything down. The offense looks stagnant with all three on the court. At times, those things are absolutely true, but those things also happen when all three aren’t on the court together.
Maxey is having a First Team All-NBA season. In the four games he’s played with Embiid and George, he’s been outstanding in two of them, and struggled in the other two. Embiid has struggled to find consistency all season, but, like Maxey, he’s had two strong games playing with the Big 3 and two ugly performances. As Derek Bodner pointed out recently, Maxey has always played better with Embiid — and this season is no different.
Quite frankly, George has been dreadful offensively in all four contests. While he’s rediscovered his three-ball this season, his percentages from two are putrid. As Adam Aaronson recently broke down, his shot diet in general is a massive concern. And the eye test matches those numbers, as George has struggled to get by anyone to the rim or even get to his midrange bag.
At this point, George is a (very good) 3-and-D wing who can’t carry the team’s offense while Embiid and Maxey are on the bench. Maybe he improves with more reps, but he’s 35 and been physically compromised for more than a calendar year now. You can’t count on it.
As we saw in Chicago, the bench play is a big concern at the moment. Grimes was outstanding to start the year, looking like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, but his production has fallen off a cliff over his last nine games. Jared McCain appeared to be regaining his form — and he has looked physically better and been solid defensively — but has still struggled to find his shot. Edgecombe has been brilliant at times and very much looked like a rookie at others. With those factors and Kelly Oubre Jr. still not back, the Sixers have struggled to get shot creation from anyone outside of Embiid and Maxey.
Is it frustrating the Big 3 is 0-4? Of course. Should we be holding players on max contracts to a higher standard? Absolutely. Is the lack of cohesiveness an issue? It certainly doesn’t help. Should the Sixers be able to overcome the issues that have presented themselves? Good teams usually do.
But the problems are bigger than the Big 3. From the rest of the roster to the head coach, everyone needs to be better if they want to be more than a team hovering around .500 and destined for the play-in.
