What can we learn during Philadelphia 76ers preseason?

While the NFL and NCAAF seasons are underway, the NBA is still in a lull period, for now.  Soon, the Philadelphia 76ers will begin training camp and preseason games. What keys should we be looking for?

Oh sweet Autumn, you are nearly upon us. The NFL and NCAA football seasons have begun, and that has satisfied the feral need for sports drama and excitement… for now.  But for the taste of the basketball court, and highlight reel shooting, dramatic blocked shots, and dazzling dunks, we are on hold.  And for fans of the Philadelphia 76ers, the waiting is a true Herculean struggle.

Like a child anticipating Santa Claus’s gifts, it’s hard to relax right now. The Philadelphia 76ers are launching into new territory this year, and as such the optimism is at an all-time high for this team.

The “What if” conundrum…

But even still, there are more questions right now than ever.  All the pieces to the NBA championship are out of the box now and scattered. Fans are eager to see how the team plans to assemble the talents into complimentary lineups.  Who will lead the team in scoring?  Who will man up on staunch defense?  Which player is the greatest risk for another injury?

Questions, questions, and more questions.  But for now, the team has no media to deliver answers.  Not until training camp, that is.  So what will be delivered?  What should fans look for in preseason?  It may not hinge upon what you think. Many look at preseason as simply win/losses and/or personal stat sheets. But that’s not what this preseason is about at all. Let me help point you in the right direction for some key observations for the Sixers preseason games.

Five key observations to Philadelphia 76ers preseason games

The preseason is not about personal stats, nor wins and losses. In fact, they do not tell much of the story at all. This is “dress rehearsal” for the team. As such, it’s about trying out differing lineups, plays, and other “not so obvious” matters which will be integrated into the background when the regular season gets underway.

Sir Charles In Charge

As such, there are some factors which will impact the preseason significantly. Other factors will not impact the early games at all.  So the conundrum is focusing attention on the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the preseason games.

Preseason KPI’s

I have spent some time analyzing which statistics are important enough to call them out to your attention. They are the following:

KPI   I:  Which five players start most preseason games?
Of the group, which five begin the most preseason games?
KPI  II:  Which players take the most three-point shot attempts?
The Philadelphia 76ers are seeking to identify the perimeter shooters. In preseason, it’s an open audition.
KPI III:  Which player(s) are first in off the bench?
Even season starters may come off the bench in preseason. Look for which players come off first.
KPI IV:  Which player gets the most looks in differing lineups?
The team will experiment with lineups. The best players will remain the constants as other players cycle through.
KPI V:   How much has team defense improved? How are defensive assignments differing from last season?

The team is seeking stronger defense. Preseason will help determine what that defensive strategy is. Will it be scheme, player, or combination?

Okay, let’s dive in on these and translate what the objective really is?

Offense KPIs

Okay. Let’s get right to it. Ignore wins and losses. Ignore final scores and points given up. Preseason is the warmup cycle to the regular season.

Air Alamo

KPI   I:  Which five players start most preseason games?
KPI  II:  Which players take the most three-point shot attempts?

The offense of the Philadelphia 76ers should be very much improved this season. To reach the playoffs, there will be no second chances. The team must be able to score. While the goal is identifying the starters for the season, there is no relation to who starts in the season to who starts in the preseason.

Establishing trust among starters

Think of it this way. Preseason is the sketch pad for coaches to learn about unknowns. So if the starting five are already known, what is there to discover?  Yes, veteran teams use preseason to shake off the rust and find a rhythm. But this is hardly a veteran team. In fact, the projected starters for this team have never played an NBA game together.

So preseason will focus on establishing trust and rhythm. That means the team will likely get point man Ben Simmons on the court as much as possible. After all, he is the catalyst to the offense, so it’s most important to establish him in each lineup.

The secondary priority is setting up the perimeter shooters. Who can sink the trey? That can be anyone on the roster, but look for a higher than usual set of attempts from long range as the team tries to baseline who has the best accuracy and mechanics from long range.

Roster KPIs

So the next priority to getting the lineup into a groove is to setting up the priority of bringing players in off the bench, and which players work in which role?  To fans in the stands, the rhythm of the game focuses attention on the scoreboard, and the player individual statistics.

Blue Man Hoop

But to coaches and to season impacts, a wise person looks for the order of rotations.  Are they consistent? Does the order vary?  In short, fans should focus on these two areas for roster impacts.

KPI III: Which player(s) are first in off the bench?
KPI IV: Which player gets the most looks in differing lineups?

Rotation and lineups

It all starts with point man Ben Simmons. Why? No matter how resolute the argument in your mind of where he slots on the five role lineup, the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t a clue. They have already admitted as such when the response to “Who will Ben defend?” has consistently been “Whoever defends him”.

So who will that be? Preseason games will be the first clues. When the team gets the NBA trending down, you can bet head coach Brett Brown will try to counter with the optimal lineup. That means preseason games will get a variety of looks in terms of player combinations.  And that leads to the second KPI.

Players earn their time

Any player who rocks in training and at the gym will push for playing time. Unfortunately, that order as already been scripted to some degree. So if, say Markelle Fultz, plays lights out in the practice gym, he will likely see a variety of combinations around him to see which group optimizes his talent.

In the course of “starter” versus “reserve”, it seldom matters once the season starts for a Brett Brown coached team.  So don’t lie awake at night nor hit the comments section with tirades just yet.  If you check this teams track record, by the end of game 82, virtually the entire roster contributes in some way.

Another curious sidebar is the emphasis of this team. Will the team try to mix/blend offensive and defensive players on the same lineup? Or will the team specialize a defensive package and offensive packages?

Defense KPIs

I continue to anticipate the defense of the Philadelphia 76ers improving into the middle of the pack of the NBA.  And I will likely continue this year as well.  The best the team has done in any Brett Brown coached era is 20th in the league.

Clipperholics

That will improve this year. You know it and I know it. Center Joel Embiid is a huge contributor to the team defense, and the plan is to get about 90 percent of the games played with his participation.  So I cheated and placed two KPIs into one category.  Let’s check those out now.

KPI V:   How much has team defense improved? How are defensive assignments differing from last season?

Subtle changes can bring huge impacts

The Philadelphia 76ers are a very versatile team, with nearly every player capable of filling the role of multiple positions.  Robert Covington stepped up in a big way in the 2016-2017 season defensively. Will Nik Stauskas do so this year? Markelle Fultz?  As defensive resources emerge, it will be intriguing to investigate how Coach Brown makes use of their talents.  Will he concentrate defensive player on the court simultaneously? Or will he opt to disperse their impact by rotating them onto the floor at differing intervals?

There is a brand new set of players. Even returning players, like Ben Simmons and Jerryd Bayless, are relatively unknowns to the Philadelphia 76ers. So this preseason will be the first experiences of fans, coaches, and players, to become acquainted with one another.

Next: Ranking the Eastern Conference point guards: No. 6-10

What is in one game may not be what will be in the next. Look for lots of dials to be turned and levers to be pulled throughout the preseason.  It’s necessary to change things up to get the best 360 degree optics on the strengths and weaknesses of the team.

In the end, the 2017-2018 season is chalk-full of upside and potential.  But look for the subtle changes. Those will likely bring the biggest impacts when the season arrives.