The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers defense tells differing tales

By Bret Stuter

CAMDEN, NJ- DECEMBER 14: Joel Embiid
CAMDEN, NJ- DECEMBER 14: Joel Embiid /
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Philadelphia 76ers
PHILADELPHIA,PA – DECEMBER 11: Sam Hinkie of the Philadelphia 76ers addresses the media in regards to Brett Browns contract extension prior to the game as .At Wells Fargo Center on December 11, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Defensive rating

There is another school of though about these beloved Philadelphia 76ers.  That camp believes that they play solid defense. And they have some statistics to back them up.  On NBA.com/Stats , the defensive rating of the Philadelphia 76ers roster is 103.7, good for seventh best in the NBA.  Now that is a different story altogether. Now there has to be something going on here, but what is it?

Well, it’s that fascinating field of Basketball Analytics, and how the efforts to create “like” comparisons sometimes do not achieve their goal.  That may be the case with the use of Defensive Rating.  In short, a team “defensive rating” is the number of points given up by a team per 100 possessions.  Per Squared Statisics, the actual formula for any given NBA team’s defensive rating is the following (where TDR is Team Defensive Rating,)

The formula equals opponent points divided by team possessions multiplied by 100.  Now here is where the kicker comes in.