The Philadelphia 76ers have seen some bright spots lately, but the truth of the matter is that the team is already facing a very tall task ahead of them. Touting a 2-8 win-loss card, the squad’s margin of error is getting smaller with every passing loss, and even the East’s top-heavy outlook at the present may not be a safe cushion to bank on.
Put simply, the 76ers have to start moving with more desperation as they aim to start climbing the standings. They cannot afford to rack up any more losses, especially with the East being projected a very tight race.
Thankfully, the 76ers now have the armory to gain ground and start making noise in the standings. Joel Embiid is back, Paul George is starting to get his groove, and Tyrese Maxey is not expected to be out for much longer. Clearly, the team already boasts the necessary tools to live up to their billing. However, this slow start has revived a rather unpopular opinion.
Nick Nurse has been a bit lackluster for the 76ers this season
While he’s already won a championship, Nick Nurse has been a tad underwhelming to begin the season. The 76ers are currently flopping on both ends, and their head tactician’s imprint has not been felt so far.
His initial rotations have been perplexing to say the least. That the 76ers needed some surprise breakthroughs from unexpected contributors to prompt him to make considerable changes to the rotation is quite disappointing.
At first blush, he refused to give consistent minutes to Guerschon Yabusele, who quickly proved that he belonged to the rotation. The 76ers had to endure multiple games where they constantly got out-muscled en route to successive losses, especially being vulnerable on the boards.
The belated decision to give Jared McCain more run was also questionable. Instead, the team had to settle with the inefficient scoring of Kelly Oubre Jr. and even Caleb Martin, both off to really slow starts.
While the team’s early struggles cannot be exclusively imputed to him given the rather limited deck he has to deal with, his trademark shrewdness when it comes to the X’s and O’s has not made a difference so far on both ends. As of writing, the 76ers rank in the bottom third of the league on both offensive and defensive ratings.
As the team starts getting healthier and with a more robust deck to play with, the hope if for Nick Nurse to stir the pot for the Philadelphia 76ers in their upcoming trek to catch up to the teams ahead of them. Hopefully, it won’t be too late by then.