Philadelphia 76ers defense tells differing tales

Which answer is correct? Is the defense good or not?

This is where things get more complicated.  In fact, let’s start with the term “good or bad” There actually is no definitive answer. But there are relative answers.  The Philadelphia 76ers defense effectiveness is less than desired relative to the offense effectiveness.  Wow. That’s a lot of big words trying to say the team struggles to score more than their opponent.  And that is what the statistics are trying to measure. Is the defense effective?

But offensive or defensive rating can help focus the coaching staff attention on key factors to get the most bang for the buck.  You see, if the team is sub-.500, which side of the ball needs more attention? If you look at the rote score, you will struggle to improve this team.  You see, the Philadelphia 76ers run 103.34 possessions per game. That elevates the team’s points on both offense and defense.  Since the team is second in the NBA in terms of pace, you should expect the offense to hover within the top-five and the defense to hover within the bottom-five.

Relativity, relative, and relatives

Defensively, the team is at 25.  Now we have evidence that the 25th placed defense is better than expected.  So what about the offense?  An offense at 108.3, coming in at 7th best in the NBA, is now lower than expected when considering the pace at which that offense performs.

At the end of each game, we all turn to the score. If the 76ers do not outscore their opponent, then we turn to the points allowed in the game. If that number is over 104 points, it’s a safe bet that the first thought concludes the defense was horrid.  But with a team that gels nearly 104 possessions per game (which is seven possessions more that a typical game for the San Antonio Spurs), there is 14 point potential for more points scored and given up. The Philadelphia 76ers need to outscore their opponents. While the scoreboard suggests the team simply doesn’t play good defense, the defensive rating suggest the 76ers play solid D.

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Which is more important for the team? You decide. But now you know why the values are so very different. And as a result, you can explain why those differences are both true.