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Philadelphia’s February: A Tale Of Two Halves

By Simon Smith

Feb 11, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) reacts to his three pointer against the Miami Heat during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 117-109. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) reacts to his three pointer against the Miami Heat during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 117-109. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Horrible Start

The Sixers began February with an 18-29 record and just 2.5 games out of the eighth place in the Eastern Conference. But their faint playoff hopes were quickly dashed after a terrible start to the month. The Sixers lost their first five games of February by an average of 16.4 points per game.

Here’s a basic snapshot of how the numbers fared for the Sixers during this span:

  • Points per game (PPG): 96.4 (Ranked 29th)
  • Field-goal percentage (FG%): 40.7 (29th)
  • Three-point percentage (3P%): 29.5 (27th)
  • Rebounds per game (RPG): 38.8 (27th)
  • Assists per game (APG): 20.8 (22nd)
  • Offensive rating (ORTG): 95.0 (29th)
  • Defensive rating (DRTG): 113.3 (26th)
  • PACE: 100.5 (11th)

It’s safe to say these are some pretty bleak numbers. Over the five games, the Sixers were outscored overall by 56 points in the second halves of games.

So naturally, these team failures bring with it some below average individual performances.

Here are the numbers of the some key performers that played significant minutes:

Robert Covington
12.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 33.3 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 33.3 minutes per game (MPG)

Dario Saric
12.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 38.3 FG%, 27.2 MPG

Nik Stauskas
8.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 30.2 FG%, 28.0 3P%, 32.6 MPG

Jahlil Okafor
15.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 46.9 FG%, 25 MPG

Keep in mind this does not the include the since departed Ilyasova and Noel. Ilyasova in this period was second on the team in both points and rebounds.

Covington’s numbers to start February did nothing to endear him to the Sixers fans, who booed Covington regularly earlier this season.

That missed layup above was just one such example.