A few short months ago, the Philadelphia 76ers were holding steady at third in the Eastern Conference, right behind the Bucks and Celtics. They looked every bit as dangerous as Milwaukee and just a step or two behind a historically good Boston team.
With Joel Embiid playing as well or better than he ever has and a revamped rotation of role players surrounding him, the Sixers looked like a dark horse contender for a championship. But when Embiid went down with a meniscus injury on January 30, everything changed for Philadelphia.
The team went through a rough stretch and fell all the way to the play-in range in the East standings. Now, they will have a fighting chance with Embiid back for the playoffs. But in order to win a championship, there are at least four problems the 76ers will need to fix.
Move the ball more
Philly has one of the best point guards in the East in Tyrese Maxey, and he has shown himself to be a tremendous playmaker and assist-getter. But the Sixers as a whole could stand to share the ball more within the flow of their offense.
Right now, Philadelphia ranks 25th in the association for assists per game and 26th for assists per field goals made. Without Embiid in the rotation for the last couple of months, you might think that number would have improved, but it has not.
The 76ers need to keep their opponents guessing defensively to have a chance to have a chance of going deep in the playoffs. Of course having what will be the best player on the floor against multiple opponents in Embiid will be valuable, but Philly must keep others involved as well.