When the Sixers scored 79 points in back-to-back games versus the New York Knicks last week, the criticism of the offense was low-hanging fruit. How could a playoff team with high expectations struggle so mightily to score points? Tyrese Maxey has the ability to score at will and other players on this team are usually more consistent offensively.
The easiest thing to see when watching the Sixers play basketball is that the spacing on the floor is drastically different without Joel Embiid. The attention off the ball that Embiid draws is arguably as important on offense as when Embiid actually does have the ball.
How much different is the Sixers offense with and without Embiid?
Philadelphia has scored on average 13 points per game less when Embiid has not played this season (121.4 with, 108.1 without). In those 37 games, the Sixers have a 13-24 record which makes them a team in the bottom third of the Eastern Conference during that span. Could this roster win more games if they were able to build chemistry and existed in a world where Embiid was never on the team? Probably, but that is not where we are right now.
The offensive production appears to be trending in the wrong direction even more lately though. In 7 of the last 9 games played, the Sixers have fallen below the 108.1 points per game without Embiid. They have also failed to score even 100 points in 5 of those 9 games. This all comes at a time when scoring is at an all-time high across the NBA as a whole.
Relying so much on one player, directly or indirectly, is dangerous and foretells a nightmare scenario if Embiid is unable to return for the playoffs this season. Nick Nurse has 11 games to find a way to get this roster to show more consistency on offense and give fans a little hope heading into the NBA Playoffs.