With half of the regular season now in the books, here’s a review of the notable highlights thus far for the Philadelphia 76ers.
While a 21-20 record at the midway point of the season is a promising development, “The Process” is still clearly a work in progress for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Currently sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, the Sixers have already nearly matched their total of 28 wins from last season. Following a number of seasons of on-court failure guided by the actions of the Sixers’ front office, its been incredibly encouraging for all involved to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.
The primary reason for this upswing in on-court success has been the availability of their top-tier talent. Prior to this season, center Joel Embiid had played just 31 games in three seasons after being selected No. 3 overall in 2014. However, he has already eclipsed that game total this season, averaging 23.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 blocks in 32 appearances.
Most notably, he has averaged 31.4 minutes per game, having been placed on a minutes restriction both last season and at the beginning of this season. From an overall perspective, Embiid has become the Sixers’ first All-Star since Jrue Holiday was selected in 2013, and the first chosen as a starter since Allen Iverson in 2010.
Joel Embiid is the first player from the 2014 draft class to receive all-star honors...& he's only played 62 games.
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) January 19, 2018
In addition to Embiid, rookie Ben Simmons has played all but one game after missing his entire debut season with a foot injury. So far, Simmons has managed to post 16.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. As an extremely athletic, 6’10” point guard, Simmons has demonstrated the potential to redefine the position moving forward.
Ben Simmons is on track to be the sixth rookie since 1973 to have a PER over 17 and a Defensive BPM over 3 pic.twitter.com/AXvYk5EWth
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) January 12, 2018
Furthermore, offseason acquisition J.J. Redick has proven to be a masterstroke as a signing. Now in his 13th season, Redick is averaging 17.3 points in 32.6 minutes per game — both career highs. Hitting at a 40.5 percent clip from 3-point range on a career-high 6.7 attempts per game, Redick has continued to maintain his stance among the elite shooters in the league.
So with half the season officially in the books, here’s a look at some of the standpoint performances on display.