Work in Progress: Fixing each of the NBA’s winless teams

Winless NBA Team #2: Philadelphia 76ers

Although everyone’s talking about the Lakers’ struggles, the 76ers’ have been pretty bad too. They’re 0-3 and had an especially bad loss to the San Antonio Spurs, where they were thoroughly outplayed by a team far less talented than them. Fortunately, James Harden looks closer to being his former MVP self than washed, and they still have a talented core that includes back-to-back MVP runner-up Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris.

The 76ers’ bench is rather thin, however, and actually averages the fewest points in the NBA. Then again, coach Doc Rivers has contributed to that by riding his starters more than most coaches, something that can come back to bite the team in several ways in the playoffs. If their bench is an issue then the team could bolster it during the season after the trade deadline when several veteran players are bought out.

Doing so would allow the team to give their starters more rest during games and hopefully lead to better overall play. The 76ers have looked lifeless at times during the first three games, particularly in the third quarter, where they have the worst point differential in the NBA. That slow start out of halftime puts them in a hole and forces Rivers to dig out of it by riding his starters.

That issue could resolve itself but it also falls on Rivers to address. In the meantime, so long as Embiid is healthy and Harden looks like he’s 85% of his former self, they should be fine and have enough surface-level talent to win most nights. After all, they have one of the best starting fives in the NBA, and once they get more comfortable playing alongside each other, they should snap out of this lethargic start and establish themselves among the best teams in the NBA.