Sixers power ranking roundup: Can Joel Embiid fix a broken offense?

On By Littum

With the Sixers winning four of their last five games and Joel Embiid scoring 31 points in a successful return to action, has this team finally turned a corner and found itself ready to compete with the best teams in the NBA?

As we do every week, let’s take the temperature of the national outlook for the Sixers with a power ranking roundup:

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NBA.com: 18 (+8 from last week)

With many understandably focused on Embiid’s return, writer John Schuhmann describes one of the most defining aspects of his 31-point outing in Chicago:

“Embiid scored 31 points in just under 33 minutes in his comeback, with 10 of his 13 buckets assisted by Tyrese Maxey, who recorded his first career triple-double. Embiid shot 3-for-14 from outside the paint, but took just so many shots (10-for-14) in the paint. Only 22 (38%) of his 58 shots through his first four games came in the paint.” (NBA.com)

One of the most frightening aspects of Embiid’s subpar play in his first four appearances of the season was that his average shooting distance was significantly higher than normal. Embiid has great touch for a seven-footer, but he also needs to be able to utilize his tremendous strength advantage down low.

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ESPN: 24 (+3 from last week)

ESPN’s panel of experts picked the biggest issue plaguing each team so far. When it came to the Sixers, the choice was easy for writer Tim Bontemps: star-powered offense:

“The biggest issue with this team is health. But from a strictly court perspective, the team ranks 27th in offensive rating, thanks to ranking 28th in 3-point field goal percentage. An easy solution? The team’s superstars must make their mark. Joel Embiid is just 3-for-23 from 3 this season, while Tyrese Maxey (29.3%) and Paul George (31.2%) have also struggled – not a good look from a trio with high offensive expectations entering this season“(ESPN)

Indeed, the Sixers’ offense has been rotten for most of the season — ESPN wasn’t the only place to highlight that this week — but it showed flashes of excellence in Chicago, albeit against a small and fairly weak defensive unit. If Embiid, Maxey and George can all get hot from three-point range in the near future to bring their season shooting percentages closer to matching their career averages, this team will be able to put up a lot of points.

Athletics: 23 (+3 from last week)

Before detailing an interesting trend surrounding each team, writer Law Murray gave them letter grades for their first quarter of the season. Predictably, the Sixers got a D-minus.

“The lack of availability of star players has a lot to do with Philadelphia’s rotten start. Only five teams have a worse field goal percentage, only the Pelicans average fewer points per game. game, and no team makes fewer shots per game than the Sixers.“(Athletics)

It’s almost unbelievable how much worse those numbers would be if rookie guard Jared McCain hadn’t become a quality scorer for several weeks, showing signs of future stardom. But ultimately, the 20-year-old may not be the player the Sixers depend on.

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