3. Turnovers are for picnic tables
When the 76ers were ‘processing’ and Brett Brown wanted an up-tempo offense with players who were not very good at any speed, turnovers were just chalked up as part of the learning curve.
However, chucking the ball or committing a violation on a consistent basis is no way to be a title contender.
Last year the 76ers averaged more turnovers a game (16.5) than any other team in the NBA. They were followed in that ignominious stat by the Lakers, Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns, three teams nowhere close to making the playoffs.
Having a bunch of turnovers is not in itself a sign of a bad team, as the Warriors were fifth in turnovers last year, which ticked off coach Steve Kerr.
Turnovers are never good, but some are better than others.
The Warriors turn it over a lot because they are constantly moving, looking for an even better shot or pushing the tempo on the fast break, forcing the defense to be constantly backpedaling and off-kilter.
The Sixers? Pretty much all bad. Passing to seemingly no one, simply having the ball taken out of their hands, setting an illegal screen (Simmons gets called for that all the time) or getting the ball stolen because the defense knew how to play the passing lane are the Sixers’ main miscues.
The Sixers have too many times where they fail to even put up a shot. Three straight times in the third period against Milwaukee, with the game still contested, they never got a shot up due to turnovers.
So far, the Sixers are being better about it, they are ninth in turnovers after five games, but the turnover bug can not bite them anymore if they hope to make noise in the Eastern Conference.