The Philadelphia 76ers are a plan that is executing to perfection, despite a second-straight season with a 0-12 start. General manager Sam Hinkie once again balked at the opportunity to sign contributing free agents in the offseason to mesh with his young core and has created this splattered painting of a franchise.
It’s far from completed, but there’s enough in place to make out what the finished product could look like.
Highly touted rookie Jahlil Okafor has been stuffing the stat sheet (18.8 PPG, 7.5 PPG, 1.67 BPG) and showing his NBA-ready game is effectively translating at the next level. He hasn’t been able to overmatch players as consistently as he could in college, but has flashed the same low-post arsenal he was lauded for last year at Duke.
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Nerlens Noel is developing a two-way game to compliment Okafor down low (10.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.6 SPG) despite failing to eclipse the 40 percent mark in field goal percentage. It’s a product of expanding his offensive arsenal for Noel, who worked on jump shooting ad nauseum in the offseason.
The Sixers also look to have two legitimate role players with staying power in point guard T.J. McConnell and power forward Christian Wood. Both went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, but have proven to be worthwhile signings in the offseason.
Wood’s PER (Player Efficiency Rating) is absurd off the bench (19.1), despite playing just 9.6 minutes per game. McConnell ranks among the league’s best in assists per game (6.6) and total assists (73).
It’s a stretch to find many positives from a Sixers team, who has made history by losing 10-straight games to start a season two years in a row, but the inability to find wins stems from many culprits.
Here are five apparent and obvious reasons why the Sixers remain–the only team in the NBA–winless.
Next: An Offensive Offense