PHILADELPHIA — The list of what ails the Philadelphia 76ers is voluminous at the moment. But among those ills is the simple inability to put the ball in the basket.
Much as issues of scheme and fit factor in, of how defense is or isn’t translating to offense and vice-versa, there’s an inescapable truth behind it. The 76ers are not making shots. And, not to get too analytical, that usually is adversely corelated to winning basketball games.
The 3-13 76ers are 29th in the NBA in shooting percentage, 29th in 3-point percentage and 29th in effective field goal percentage. They were, respectively, 23rd, 18th and 24th in those categories last year. In 2022-23, they were sixth in total shooting and effective field goal percentage while leading the league in 3-point shooting.
Sunday’s 125-99 humbling at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers was another exercise in futility. Setting aside the 39 points surrendered in the first quarter, the 35 allowed in the third or the fact that all five Clippers starters were at least plus-30, the Sixers kept clanging away: 39.5 percent from the field, 9-for-39 (23.1 percent) from 3-point range.
“I thought we started the game with some great shots and obviously didn’t hit any of them,” coach Nick Nurse said. “We actually made pretty good plays offensively, kind of all the way through. It was tough. They were scoring every time, so it was playing against halfcourt, but we did generate a bunch of wide open 3s in the first quarter.”
The individual regressions are concerning. Tyrese Maxey, who shot 43.4 percent in 2022-23 from behind the arc, is down to 29.5 this season. Kelly Oubre went from a passable 31.1 percent 3-point shooter last year to 26.1. Eric Gordon, a supposed specialist who shot 37.8 from behind the line last season and is a career 37 percent marksman, has been awful at 25.0 percent, plus his lowest 2-point shooting rate since 2016. The fact that Reggie Jackson, Guerschon Yabusele and Jared McCain are the team’s leading 3-point shooters is more concerning than encouraging.
Context obviously matters, with Maxey as the prime example. His outstanding 2022-23 came at 6.2 3-point attempts per game. Without Paul George and Joel Embiid, he’s been forced to shoulder a heavier offensive load when healthy, attempting 9.5 3s per game. Guys like Oubre and Gordon are ideal spacers next to attention-demanding stars. They were brought in for complementary, not starring roles, and to draw the commensurate defensive attention.
Maxey, in a manner that seems to presage the coaching role in his long-distant future, sees the contours. Miss a shot, and it leads to a long rebound and a transition chance for the opponent. Don’t get stops, and the other team has a chance to set up a defense. Miss an open look and that moment of individual regret is enough to give the other team a slight opening. The lack of continuity – by injuries this year, and by massive roster turnover year to year – is a force multiplier.
Miss a shot, make it easier for the opponent to score, which makes it harder for you to hit shots – that’s the recipe for a death spiral on both ends.
“You can’t get stops early, you can’t play fast,” he said. “You’re taking the ball out of the net every single time, they’re scoring every single possession, it’s hard to play fast, hard to play with pace, and that kind of hurt us.”
“When you see that you’re actually doing some good things and some of your better players are getting those looks, and they just continually don’t go in, I think it does affect your defense,” Nurse said.
But all that aside, at a certain point, an open 3-pointer is an open 3-pointer. Even the healthiest version of Embiid isn’t physically pushing Oubre’s shot through the cylinder. And the responsibility falls on players actually in the game to do their best to resemble NBA players.
Nurse is short on answers when it comes to why shots aren’t falling. Beyond gesturing broadly to the all-around organizational uncertainty as long as Embiid’s health status is so unsettled, the most plausible strategy is to keep at it and hope the luck turns.
“We’ve got to continue to evaluate, are the shots as good as they feel?,” he said. “If they’re not, we’ve got to figure out how to make them a little bit better. Is the rhythm where it needs to be? Continue to fight.”
Until then, Maxey and his teammates that do report for work daily will try to make do. It’s a little early to brandish the 2018 Eagles’ rallying cry as Maxey did Sunday night. But the team’s leader knows it’s also too early to panic, especially in an Eastern Conference where mediocrity is the norm. If lack of continuity is the enemy, then trades aren’t a remedy, not that many pieces can be moved anyway.
So it’s about standing and fighting.
“We’ve got to be resilient,” Maxey said. “We’ve got to go out here every single night. We’re all we’ve got. But we’re literally only 16 games in, so it’s a long season. So either we’re going to lay down, let teams come in here and have field days against us, or we’re going to go out there and play with some pride and go out there and win some games. That’s how we’re going to determine who we’re going to be.”
