At 14-11 thru 25 games, there really hasn’t been a lot of noise in the numbers for the Sixers so far as we wait for them to return to action on Friday. Other than the win-loss record, which is where everyone’s
eye balls jump to first, a large portion of the team’s statistical profile suggests they are exactly what their record says they are.
There have been some games in which Tyrese Maxey looks like an MVP candidate and/or VJ Edgecombe looks like a Rooke of the Year candidate. There have been other games in which neither of these two things happen and we’re reminded of the disaster that was the 2024-25 season. There have even been a few moments, albeit not many, in which Joel Embiid looks like the player the franchise has long been building around. On certain nights, some of the younger or newer role players step up. The inconsistency of these outcomes leaves Philly right in the middle of the Eastern Conference and if this continues, the Sixers are probably a playoff team, but maybe not good enough to avoid the play-in tournament in the East.
So how can Philly disrupt this pattern in a positive way to reel off an extended stretch of wins that launches it into the upper echelon of what looks like a wide-open Eastern Conference? Well, it all needs to start on the defensive end of the floor. Philadelphia wasn’t great in its last game on defense against Atlanta, but the five games prior to the loss to the Hawks should offer fans some optimism.
In those five games, the Sixers went 4-1 and the one loss was a 112-108 nailbiter against the Lakers. The 112 points scored by Los Angeles were by far the most Philadelphia allowed in this five-game sampling. The other four games were a 121-102 win against Washington, a 99-98 win against Golden State, a comfortable 116-101 victory in Milwaukee and a 115-105 over Indiana.
By now, it should be abundantly obvious that Maxey is going to be the team’s only source of consistent offense. That’s not to slight Edgecombe, who has had a very nice start to his NBA career, but like any rookie, Edgecombe has had nights where he’s still figuring out life as a professional. As we mentioned earlier, these two guards are talented enough to win Philly some games all by themselves, but the next step for the Sixers in becoming a true contending team this year will be finding ways to win in an uglier fashion.
That’s where the team’s recent defensive progress can be a shining light as we wrap up the calendar year. I’ll be the last guy to give Paul George any compliments given how disappointing his tenure has been thus far in Philadelphia relative to the contract he signed with the Sixers. But the veteran wing player continues to at least give the team some solid defense.
This has to be the way forward for the Sixers. They have no choice but to take on a strong defensive identity for the remainder of the season and grind out wins perhaps at a slower pace on certain nights. Sure, Philadelphia could get some hot shooting nights from Kelly Oubre when he returns from his knee injury, Quentin Grimes, Jared McCain or maybe even George. But there are going to be plenty of nights where the outside shots aren’t falling.
Of course, you’re relying on George, and probably Embiid, to at least give you steady defensive performances in order for this identity to hold firm for another 57 games plus the postseason. For the season thus far, Philly has a defensive rating of 114.3. That’s not too far off of its 113.3 defensive rating in 2022-23, a season in which it won 54 games and held a 3-2 lead on the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs. For all the jokes that have been made at the Sixers’ expense concerning choke jobs in the second round, I think everyone would sign up for a 3-2 lead in the second round of the playoffs against anyone right now.
Is the defense going to remain as consistent as it’s been recently? Who knows. Are the Sixers going to find enough sources of offense behind Maxey? You’re probably crossing your fingers there. But, there might actually be a path for this team to at least tease fans into believing it can contend this season — and that’s more than we’ve said in a while.
