Philadelphia 76ers therapy session for early struggles

Foul shooting

This one might be the hardest to fix. Outside of Joel Embiid, seemingly no one on the Philadelphia 76ers is willing to aggressively draw fouls.

In the four games Embiid has missed, the Sixers have gone to the charity stripe an average of 18.8 times per game. In only one of those contests, against the Blake Griffin-less Pistons, did they attempt more than 20.

Over those same four games, Ben Simmons has attempted a total of 18 foul shots while Tobias Harris has gotten to the line 13 times. Those average out to 4.5 and 3.3 per non-Embiid game, respectively. Those are both skewed by goose eggs against Orlando, but those performances are inexcusable when your offensive fulcrum is out.

Josh Richardson seems to have the skills to be that guy, but he hasn’t quite put it together, only averaging 2.9 overall. Al Horford is even worse, tallying 11 total attempts in his four games as the starting center.

Fortunately Embiid hasn’t missed a step, averaging 8.4 free throw attempts per game over his seven appearances. But he won’t be there all the time, and no one knows if he can sustain good health over a full season. Someone else has to step up.

If they aren’t going to make a lot of 3s, they have to be able to get to the line. If neither is happening, it will be a long season.