Something that I was not expecting to see this year after all the Harden drama was Philadelphia playing maybe the best basketball of the Embiid era to this point. The offense is firing, the defense is stout and Philly was a cunt hair away from being 8-0 after a narrow loss to Milwaukee in their first game.
I’m not an expert on all things basketball, but I have been tuning in to Philly games and have noticed a few things that really stand out.
#1. Points In The Paint
We’re operating with a small sample size so far, so a lot of these numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt. That said, I don’t believe it’s a fluke that Philly’s points in the paint are up 8% from last year. In 22-23 the Sixers got 46.8% of their points in the paint, this year they are up to 54.8%. We have seen an equal decline in their points off of the three ball as well.
All of the Philly ball handlers seem to making aggressive drives getting to the rim. Oubre, Harris and Maxey are not shy to attack the basket when the defense allows them to. Which is a perfect segway into my next point.
#2. Tobias Harris Glow-Up
Tobias Harris is playing great basketball so far this season. The main area of notice for me is that Harris’ catch and shoot numbers are down significantly from last year. In 22-23, 35.6% of his shots were catch and shoot, this year, that number is down to 24.2%. He’s also averaging about 1.2 more dribbles per shot attempt as well.
Harris has rediscovered his abilities as a shot creator and it has allowed him to have a much larger impact on the floor. We’re seeing him beat guys off the dribble, score in the post and still maintain his 3 ball, especially in the right corner.
#3. Maxey-Embiid Two-Man Action
Watching what these two guys are doing together reminds me a lot of what Jokic and Murray were doing in the playoffs last year. This version of Maxey is what Philly thought they were getting when they acquired Harden.
The pick n rolls are obviously a bitch and a half to defend, but there’s a deeper level of chemistry with these two this season. Maxey at times is able to get a free lane to the hoop just because of Embiid’s gravity and Embiid can take advantage of the open floor when Maxey is knocking down his threes and stretching the defense.
#Conclusion
The Sixers look great so far and it’s been a joy to watch as a fan of basketball. The moral of the story is get the toxic people out of your life and get your medicine from Nurse and not a Doc.
The growth of maxey has also led to less Embiid isos from what I’ve seen. Like last couples years without Harden, Embiid was damn near isoing every half court play.