The Philadelphia 76ers dropped another outing at home, this time to the tune of a beatdown at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, which are currently beneath them in the standings. While a loss to such a talented team should not raise the panic meter just yet, this one in particular only drives home the point that the front office should definitely look into changing things up.
The trade deadline is fast approaching, yet the 76ers have not been linked up in any talking points with regard to trades. Part and parcel of that is probably the fact that the team is not really in a make-or-break situation in that the sky will not be falling even if they do not make a trade, but if they want to bolster their chances in the playoffs, they will at least have to seek improvements in the margins.
And as the Cavs showed to them as vividly as they can, Philly especially needs a lift when it comes to a very important area — three-point shooting
The 76ers need to make a trade for another three-point shooter
So far this season, the 76ers rank 16th in three-point shooting percentage, draining 35.6 percent of their threes. They are also 16th in total makes per game, draining 13.3 triples on average. Their volume is also in the middle of the pack, attempting 37.4 treys per contest.
Those are marked improvements from last season, but their previous campaign set the bar so low in that regard that the team should not rest on its laurels and be satisfied with their production on the perimeter. For a team with so many shot creators, shooting should be given a high premium, and the front office should most certainly explore trades to arm them with more reliable shooting.
Three-point shooting was the name of the game against the Cavaliers. Cleveland shot 20/46 from rainbow country whereas Philadelphia canned just 12/43 from beyond the arc. Against better competition, outside shooting becomes all the more important.
The 76ers already ranked third in the league in defending the three-point line. Being able to shoot threes themselves on a higher clip will only augment their advantage on the perimeter.
Hopefully, the front office can address this before the trade deadline. They do have a handful of options who are already available for taking, so it should only be a matter of making the money work to get this engine rolling.