The Philadelphia 76ers struggled immensely last season on both ends of the floor. But of course, that is purely plain sailing, as that is probably what the status quo is for a team that finished the year with just 24 wins against 28 losses the fifth-worst record in the league, right?
Well, this roster is clearly capable of besting that easily and smashing it to smithereens. Talent is, as everyone knows, the least of this team’s concerns. It is just a matter of piecing this roster together and actually staying on the floor. Team chemistry was ruined last season due to the revolving door of injuries that simply did not know how to stop.
But regardless of their abundance of talent and lack of team chemistry, they have another issue that should given more attention — their lack of playmaking. Part and parcel of what made the 76ers offense nearly unwatchable last season was the team’s heavy reliance on individual shot generation as a way to compensate for their dearth of real floor generals.
Unfortunately, that will surely persist next season, and the numbers will probably show it.
The 76ers are likely to finish dead-last in the league in assists next season
Last season, the 76ers finished 29th in the league in assists per game, dishing out just 23.2 dimes a game. Just 58.4 percent of their shots came off assists, the second-lowest mark in the league. For camparison, the Golden State Warriors led the league in that department, with 71.4 percent of their field goal makes being assisted.
Assist are not the end-all, be-all for teams offensively, but they reflect the diversity of an offensive system. The 76ers, unfortunately, did not really address their sheer lack of natural table-setters this offseason — keeping their iso-heavy scoring attack intact.
Tyrese Maxey, who is actually their best playmaker, is not really someone you can comfortably peg as a floor general. Ditto for the returning Jared McCain, whose passing is not his best trait. Jared Butler, who was their lone functional pass-first point guard last season, is now gone.
Kyle Lowry is technically a natural point guard, but we all know he has nothing left in the tank. And if the coaching staff deploys him, that would mean that the 76ers are in trouble. Despite his ample experince as a playmaker, he is no longer a feasible role player at this point in time.
The Philadelphia 76ers will once again be screwed by their lack of passing. Hopefully, they can get by with the talent that they have to carry them on offense, lest they put on a static display offensively on a nightly basis, possibly leading to a bunch of L’s.