Philadelphia 76ers 0-3 preseason shows plenty of positives

The Philadelphia 76ers jump into preseason 0-3. But this team is having far more success than you realize.

When you see the professional sports team begin training camp, and then enter preseason contests, you experience an automatic response. Competition means “WIN!” at all costs. As such, it’s completely natural for fans of the Philadelphia 76ers to look at a 0-3 preseason record, shrug shoulders, and think “here we go again?!?!”.

But preseason is not akin to normal season basketball games. Much like a movie or dramatic Broadway play, the preseason is dress rehearsal for a season to come.

So dress rehearsal for another disappointing season? Well not quite. You see, preseason is an odd assortment of what head coaches are looking for.  Right now, the juggernaut Brooklyn Nets are, sit down for this one, 3-0. The hapless Cleveland Cavaliers are 0-3. See where I’m going with this?

Forces counter culture of winning

There are two sets of dynamics impacting the Philadelphia 76ers this off-season which run counter to the winning principal.  The first is to be conservative – don’t risk injury nor revealing too much in a game which means nothing in the grand scheme of things. But the second and likely more important of the two right now is experimentation.

The team is working on slotting players (the bane of versatile players is the need to test them each year to see what they can do best). Right now, the only way to do so is to play the guys and see how they do in specific scripted roles. Then, assess their performance to direct practice and work in the gym.

What have we learned so far?

On one hand, a fast start for the Philadelphia 76ers, where the team jumps out to a lead in a playoff hunt, is unlikely this year. On the other hand, this team has enough talent to challenge some very good teams.

But one fact that jumps out at you?  The team needs their lynch pin, center Joel Embiid, to make it all work.  It’s no small coincidence that the team recently extended the young Cameroon on a max contract laced with protections.  It is the right time to make the extension, and the move will serve as the catalyst to convert a promising team into a team focused on delivering now.

Jojo is a go go!

Now, Joel Embiid has played a total of 31 games. But in those 31 games he showed up on offense and defense. He played hard, redirected opposing offenses simply by his presence on the court. He led the team in offense, and led the team in defense.  And that came from 31 games in his rookie season.  In his sophomore year, he will be that much better.

But there is plenty more information where that came from. So let’s dig a little and see which gold nuggets we can unearth in the rubble of this preseason so far?

Free Agent signings pure golden

So where is the talent?  Well, the J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson signing’s appear to be bullseyes so far. Redick already appears incredibly comfortable at 11.5 PPG on just 20.5 MPG.  Amir Johnson is averaging 8.0 PPG at 19 MPG.  More importantly, both have demonstrated both affinity and expertise at sinking that three-point shot.   That is exactly what you want from veterans. Solid production, calm collected psyche.  So what about Jerryd Bayless?

Bayless has averaged over 19 minutes per game, and translated that into 9.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.3 APG.  He has played in all three preseason games, and his versatility of point guard to shooting guard appears to be shooting guard for the team so far.

Even Emeka

Even 6-foot-10 Emeka Okafor is delivering better than expected. And with the unexpected injury to Richaun Holmes, eOkafor has averaged 9.1 minutes per game, and averaged 3.7 points in those games. That is very important to a team navigating the center position with limits to Joel Embiid, a day-to-day “can he play?” status upon Jahlil Okafor, and the recent injury to Richaun Holmes.

But the veterans are actually a small part of the equation. What of those dynamic duo rookies, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz?

Rookies require restraint of expectations

Philadelphia 76ers top draft picks Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz will be just fine. But they will require Philadelphia 76ers fans to do something completely unnatural to their instincts. Be Patient.

The arrival of Simmons and Fultz to the team this year is similar to a young child discovering the long-hoped-for-gift awaiting their arrival under the Christmas tree. As the youngster tears through the packaging, they discover the harsh reality that the image on the outside of the box is a fully assembled toy, but the package contains the parts to assemble.

And no batteries.

Patience young Skywalker

Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers have that long-hoped-for-gift awaiting them this season. But the pair of rookies will not set triple-doubles and 20 point outings from day one.  Neither player has been in and NBA regular season game. They have not faced THAT level of competition, nor played with this team in those situations.

For the first half of the season, it will all be new. New cities, new opponents, new hotel rooms, new routines. And amidst all of that novelty, the pair will be asked to focus on the basketball court more than anyone else on the team. Not by the ownership, the executives, nor even the coaching staff.

But by the fans. Fans who got to this point through patience.

Lots of moving parts

Yes the very fanbase who waited patiently for the team to even get the draft pick to select these two very talented young me. Now they want results want them now.  Elite playmakers like Steph Curry or LeBron James unloaded upon the NBA in their very first year.  But…

The Philadelphia 76ers already have an elite playmaker by the name of Joel Embiid. Now, their two rookie first-round draft picks must learn to play in sync with the star.  Meanwhile, they must learn to compliment one another as well.  So how have they done so far?

Stars will shine

Rookies who begin their NBA careers are similar to strobe lights. As the player tries to think about everything, their inner talent is governed by  an inexperienced mindset. They are their own worst enemy. But the have flashes of instincts when their game shines without the fetters of an overwhelmed rookie mind.

Ben Simmons sits at 9.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game this preseason. But in the opener, he had six points, seven rebounds, and nine assists in just 22 minutes of play. That flash gives promise to a rookie who can deliver triple doubles on any given night.

What of Markelle Fultz?  His opener was not a highlight reel maker. But he did bounce back with 24 minutes off the bench in the third preseason game. He needed just 24 minutes to put up 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.  That is the second NBA experience for the 19-year-old. He will be just fine.  At least, that is the plan if his knee soreness turns out to be nothing.

The best of the rest

The surprisingly strong performance from Jahlil Okafor this preseason slides right into the mix alongside that of Robert Covington and Dario Saric.  Those big men are simply tuning up right now, delivering offense and, in the case of Okafor, surprisingly better defense this season.

The team now has the 2016 draft wings on the team simultaneously as well. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Furkan Korkmaz have both played well. While TLC is the more NBA savvy of the two, how can you ignore the 50 percent shooting from three-point range of Korkmaz?

Saving the best for last

Finally, T.J. McConnell is a solid contributor in the back court. He is the 2017-2018 season version of power forward Carl Landry. He may get solid minutes, he may get sparse minutes. But when he gets minutes, the team gets 100 percent output.

Finally, the team has yet to see the 2017-2018 version of Joel Embiid.  But that should happen soon, as he is listed as probable to play against the Brooklyn Nets. When he steps onto the court, the goal is not how many points he scores, how well he defends, but who takes the court with him.

Next: Why Markelle Fultz should still begin this season as a starter

It’s still dress rehearsal folks. Players are still ironing out the wrinkles of schemes and plays. Watch the game from a coach’s standpoint. For every players with the ball, there are nine other players on the court without.  Now that is seen as experimentation. Change the inputs and observe the outputs.

Come the regular season, the NBA game day format for the Philadelphia 76ers will apply lessons learned now. Each game will build more data for the team, the players, and the coaches to learn from.  Their record is 0-3.  But that could be a sign that there is plenty of good soon to come.