The 2024-25 NBA regular season got off to a rocky start for the Philadelphia 76ers, who are missing both Joel Embiid (knee injury management) and Paul George (left knee bone bruise recovery) for at least the first three games of the season. Now, they have to travel to Indiana on Sunday afternoon, to face an Indiana Pacers team that is also hungry for a victory and looking to extend Philadelphia’s misery.
Additionally, if the Sixers want to avoid an 0-3 start to their season, they need to find some rhythm and togetherness on both sides of the ball quickly.
What’s Wrong With The Philadelphia 76ers
Tyrese Maxey Must Facilitate More For Philadelphia
On Friday night against the Toronto Raptors, Tyrese Maxey forced up a lot of bad shots. He wasn’t moving the ball or trusting his teammates to create high-percentage shooting opportunities. Especially without Embiid and George, he has to create points for his teammates. Also, the sooner Maxey starts to trust his new teammates, the better Philly’s offense will look throughout this season.
He is the future of the franchise, and he has to learn that sometimes it is better to create a high-percentage shot for a teammate rather than use his impressive skillset to force up a shot that may or may not find the bottom of the basket. Maxey cannot shoulder the offensive burden alone, and if he continues to press, he will be forced to either pass the ball or take a well-contested shot The Pacers defense will certainly be focusing on him.
Settling into the facilitator role and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates will help the Sixers avoid an 0-3 start and get the offense to flow better.
Hit Three-Pointers
During the first two games of the season, Philly has only made 17 three-pointers so far. They will need to cash in and make their three-point attempts if they want to turn their season around. When the Sixers created this roster, they were looking for players who could make three-pointers consistently, and if Philly can start hitting their shots, then there are not many teams in the league that can compete with them on a nightly basis.
Without Embiid and George at least for the next few games, every player who touches the floor for the Sixers has to give maximum effort, and if they are open, take the high-percentage shot.
76ers Must Improve Defensively
The Sixers defense has been up and down through their first two games of this season. Against the Bucks on Wednesday night, they played tough defense that forced Milwaukee to work for every point. On Friday against the Raptors, they were late on rotations and did not communicate and that helped Toronto get their first win of the season.
In addition, they have to be better at communicating switches and defensive assignments. Opposing teams will pick them apart if they are going to be consistently late on defensive rotations.
This roster was created with defensive toughness and length in mind and if they are not going to be good at that, then the front office of the Sixers needs to bring in players who can be defensive specialists.
They are about to begin game three of 82, so what the team looks like right now could be a lot different if they can learn how to play with each other. The sooner that happens, the better Philly will be as a team. Right now they are experiencing a baptism by fire. If they can come out on the other side a better and more together team, this could be one of the best squads in the association once they work out the kinks, especially with Embiid and George likely to return next week.
