The Sixers are looking to bounce off of two straight losses to start the year. Could pushing pace be the solution? Additionally, the team picked up options on several players’ contracts, possibly shutting down any talk of moving Joel Embiid.
Here’s all the news you need to know.
Pace Remains Focus — Brian Seltzer, Sixers.com
"In Brown’s first season, he made it clear that getting the Sixers to play fast on a consistent basis was a top priority. That mission was accomplished, as the team ranked first in the NBA with an average of 101.6 possessions per game, according to ESPN’s “Hollinger Stats” (utilized by advanced statistics guru John Hollinger). Last year, the Sixers, despite slightly slowing things down, still finished sixth in the league, generating 98.3 possessions per game. Through the first two games of the new schedule, however, the story is somewhat different. On the surface, the Sixers’ rate of 97.8 possessions per game is only half a possession slower than the pace the team played at a season ago. Relative to the other 29 clubs in the league, though, the Sixers’ current pace is seventh-to-last. Granted, the sample size is very small, but Brown recognizes that bringing in all 6’11”, 271 pounds of Jahlil Okafor this off-season has changed some dynamics. “I think trying to find that balance of running and posting. We cannot play slow,” Brown said after the Sixers managed 71 points, 19 field goals, and 63 field goal attempts against the Jazz. “As good as I think Jahlil can be, that bothered me a lot. We had 15 assists out of our 19 made baskets. I think that we can play with speed, but we have to find that balance.”"
Noel, Stauskas, Embiid Options Selected — Brian Seltzer, Sixers.com
"The 76ers formally announced this morning that the team exercised the fourth-year contract option for Nerlens Noel, and also third-year contract options for both Nik Stauskas and Joel Embiid. After a left knee ACL tear sidelined him for the first season he was eligible to play, Noel rose to the occasion last year, averaging 9.9 points per game, and leading all first-year players with an average of 8.1 rebounds per game. He also posted 142 blocks, which ranked eighth overall in the league. “I’m just blessed to be extended, and be part of this organization,” Noel, the number six pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, said following Friday’s shoot-around at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He added that he is encouraged by the vision that President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Hinkie has for the team."
Sixers Waiting For Okafor… Literally — Bob Ford, Philadelphia Inquirer
"The dynamic has changed this season, though, with the arrival of a skilled low-post threat in Jahlil Okafor. The rookie has dominated the team’s practices, and he scored 26 points in his NBA debut against Boston on Wednesday; also a loss, but nevertheless. It’s no wonder Okafor’s teammates are looking to lean on him and, judging by the home opener, to wait for him as well. Point guards Isaiah Canaan and T.J. McConnell pushed the team to just three fast-break baskets, while the offense devolved into a matter of dumping the ball inside to Okafor and waiting to see what happened. With Okafor matched up against 7-foot-1 defender Rudy Gobert, not much did. Okafor was double-teamed when he put the ball on the floor, usually by a perimeter player who didn’t worry about leaving his assignment, or Gobert handled things admirably himself. Okafor finished with 10 points in 36 minutes. The question for Brown to answer, and it’s a puzzler, is how to keep the Sixers, whose mission this season is to develop a pair of 6-foot-11 players, from being a half-court team. Big men take longer to get to their appointed stations near the basket. That’s workable if there are complementary pieces on the floor to punish defenses that overplay the post, but the Sixers are not so blessed."