Most disappointing team of the season — Philadelphia 76ers

Before the NBA season kicked off this year, I boldly guessed that the Philadelphia 76ers, who were just one step away from the Eastern Conference championship game last season, will make it to the championship game since 2001, Ben Simmons will fully evolve and Joel Embiid will be replaced by last season's Inspired by failure, play a career masterpiece.

Three months later, my predictions looked wildly wrong.

The Sixers, currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, suffered another tragic losing streak while Embiid was sidelined by injury. Ben Simmons not only failed to show the shooting ability he claimed outside the season, but even had the worst overall performance of his career. And the first brother, Joel Embiid, has also shown the phenomenon of not advancing but retreating. This season, he scored an outrageous performance against the Tyrannosaurus who eliminated them last year.

What is it that makes the Sixers perform so poorly this year? Let's take a look.

away spell

Last year's No. 3 Sixers in the East had their best record in years in large part because of their ability to win on the road. The regular-season road record of 22 wins and 19 losses ranked fifth in the league last season, and it can be said that it is one of the few teams that is not affected by home-court advantage.

Look at the tragic record of only 7 wins and 14 losses on the road this year. The road record is not as good as the Bulls who fell out of the playoffs. The inability to win on the road also caused Philadelphia to suffer a six-game losing streak , and urgently needed the right remedy for the inability to win.

Teams that often suffer from road spells suffer from low morale and a lack of key players in the fourth quarter, and this year's Sixers are no exception.

Let's first look at team morale. This year, Philadelphia has had a record of three or more three-game losing streaks, which undoubtedly has a great impact on the team's overall morale. Embiid has also stated that the pressure of losing has caused great trouble to his body and mind . But Embiid's recent comments about sacrificing the ego are more likely a warning sign of his dissatisfaction with a particular player on the team.

"We have to understand what we individually can give to the team"

"It's all about team wins"

"Although sometimes that means stepping out of your comfort zone"

Many fans and pundits have speculated that Embiid's intention is to hope that Simmons can change his style of play by focusing on the team. This is not the first time JoJo has encouraged Simmons to step out of his comfort zone. As early as last season, Embiid hoped that his teammates could shoot more three-pointers and said that although he didn't like to shoot outside, he could improve his three-pointer ability. Increasing the threat of the team's offense, he will put the team's needs ahead of his own preferences.

JoJo's remarks have also begun to make people wonder whether the relationship between the two stars is not as good as the outside world imagined, and the issue of team morale has also become one of the focuses of everyone. Coach Brett Brown is another well-known Mr. Good Guy, and he has a lot to do with a player who has such a tough temper on Embiid and Simmons.

Furthermore, the Sixers have not had a player who could change the game at a crucial moment since Jimmy Butler left the team. In addition to Simmons' offensive growth not as expected, Embiid's ability to double-team the ball isn't quite as good. It is also because of this that the heavy responsibility of the team's fourth quarter naturally falls on Tobias Harris, who has re-signed with the Sixers.

In fact, more than once in the past, Brett Brown wanted Harris to take over the responsibilities of the team's key scorer, and it was one of the biggest reasons for his out-of-season extension. But Harris still couldn't replicate Butler's domineering domineering last year in a stalemate in the fourth quarter, and his method of creating offensive opportunities needs to be improved.

Harris averaged 1.6 points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, ranking 88th in the league. Judging from his five-year contract of 180 million, this performance is obviously unqualified. Although the clutch percentage is still a good 42.4%, Harris still has room for improvement in this regard as the team's key player.

The Sixers had a 46.2 percent win rate in close games this year, but plummeted to 25 percent on the road when the score was close. In the case that the team still does not have a competent fourth quarter gentleman, the situation that the Sixers cannot win on the road will only continue, and such a problem is more likely to be magnified in the playoffs.

Is the JB connection OK?

The JB connection formed by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons has had problems in the past few seasons, but with the team losing streak and the skills of the two major players gradually maturing, the compatibility of the JB connection has once again become the focus of fans' discussion. topic.

On paper, the compatibility between Simmons, who has no shooting ability and is good at (only) cutting, and Embiid, who prefers to attack the penalty area, is quite embarrassing, but last year, relying on Jimmy Butler and the team's overall talent and star, JB's connection problem still exists. Not too serious.

The Sixers, who let go of Butler this season, are determined to make a big bet on the two stars, officially placing the keys to the franchise's future together. While believing in JoJo and Simmons, the team also understood the incompatibility of JB's lineup and decided to sign Al Horford to try to keep Simmons and Embiid playing time at the same time and buy insurance for Embiid's rich injury history.

At this point, I must first say that when the playing time of the team's two stars must be divided, the team may have problems with the most basic team structure. And those issues were the worst interpretations of this year's Sixers.

The arrival of Horford can be said to be the biggest key to the success of the Sixers this season. They not only snatched a key player from their arch-rival Celtic, but also unlocked the answer to the coexistence of JoJo and Simmons. Sadly, the Horford experiment has so far looked disappointing.

Despite the increase in playing time compared to last year, Horford's accounting numbers have dropped almost across the board, not only failing to answer the team, but also unable to maintain the previous All-Star output. More importantly, the connection between Horford and Simmons has not achieved the effect the team originally hoped for. In the nine games that Embiid has missed, the Sixers are only 3-6 , with losses to the Magic and the Nets without Kyrie Irving pointing out the importance of Embiid to the Sixers.

The Ringer also pointed out that JB Link has been showing a negative Net Rating performance since the same team, and the compatibility between the offensive end and the defensive end continues to be problematic. Conversely, when one of the two stars was sidelined, the plus-minus was equal or better.

Assuming the Sixers' slump continues this year, it may be time to seriously consider the possibility of trading one of Embiid and Simmons.

Epilogue

Just because the Sixers didn't perform as well as expected this year doesn't mean the team has no room to turn things around. The 76ers currently ranks third in the league in Strength of Opponent, which means that the hardness of the next schedule will be greatly reduced. If the team can find a winning formula with a weaker opponent, I believe the 76ers will rely on The team's defense and depth can still make a lot of difference.

This year's season will be an important indicator of JB's connection. If the team still can't find the instruction manual for JoJo and Simmons to coexist after three seasons, the overall direction of the team will need to undergo a major reform and establish the cornerstone of one of the stars. .

Readers who want to continue discussing NBA topics with me can find me at kwlee1022@gmail.com, and welcome to private message me on the Basketball Utopia Facebook fan page .