January 15, 2024
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic -- who have combined to win the last three NBA MVP awards -- will battle for the first time this season on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
It has been a rocky last couple of weeks for the Sixers as they have navigated multiple injuries to Joel Embiid. But with Embiid expected to be on the cusp of a return, the schedule heats up a bit in the upcoming week -- with three of the team's four games coming against one of the league's 10 best defenses.
The Sixers host the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets before traveling to Orlando and Charlotte to face the Magic and Hornets. Aside from a struggling Hornets team, those are three teams currently in the playoff race who routinely pose various challenges onto their opposition's offenses.
These are the keys to the Sixers having a successful week on the offensive end of the floor:
Everyone knows that when Embiid is in the lineup, he will likely shoot a whole lot of free throws. But -- assuming he does return -- he cannot be the only Sixer routinely getting to the line. The Rockets in particular often allow their opponents to get to the charity stripe, perhaps the one flaw in their otherwise effective defense. When the Sixers faced Houston on Dec. 29, Tyrese Maxey dominated, shooting a career-high 15 free throws. Maxey scored 42 points en route to an Embiid-less win that night, though the Rockets were without their most trusted perimeter defender in Dillon Brooks.
Rockets center Alperen Sengun is one of the best and most enticing young players in the league right now, but he does not have the requisite size to handle Embiid in the low post if the reigning NBA MVP does play. If Maxey can have a performance even slightly resembling the one he had a few weeks ago and Embiid plays, the Sixers should be able to take advantage of Houston's lone defensive weakness.
When one wonders about what has powered the Nuggets' success, they think of Nikola Jokic and his virtuoso-like offensive instincts, his masterful two-man game with Jamal Murray and Denver's tremendous cast of supporting pieces like Aaron Gordon, Kentravious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr.
What people may forget, though, is that Denver also boasts a strong defense. Despite occasional claims to the contrary, Jokic is a rock-solid rim protector and elite rebounder, which more than makes up for his relative lack of defensive mobility. Gordon is one of the best and most versatile defensive players in the league, and Caldwell-Pope is as reliable as it gets.
That is why the Sixers must target the other members of Denver's rotation when on offense. Murray and Porter Jr. are both below-average defenders according to both the eye test and defensive analytics. If Gordon focuses on Tobias Harris and Caldwell-Pope focuses on Maxey, the Sixers will not only need those players to chip in, but they will need their other pieces -- players like De'Anthony Melton, Nic Batum and Kelly Oubre Jr. -- to contribute as well in order to lessen the problems that come with attacking high-caliber defensive players.
The Magic have been one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA this season. Entering this week, they allowed just 9.4 offensive rebounds per game -- fewer than every team in the entire league except for the Miami Heat -- despite only being in the middle of the pack in opponent's field goal percentage.
Orlando is a team with a very clear physical identity. They are tall, they are long and they are strong at just about every position on the floor. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse entered the season preaching aggressiveness on the offensive glass, particularly with Embiid -- who should be back on the floor by the time this game comes around -- and entering the week, the Sixers are 11th-best in the NBA in offensive rebounds per 100 possessions.
It should go without saying that reviving possessions with offensive rebounds can kill an opposing defense. More offensive rebounds equals more shots, and more shots equals more points. In order to beat a stout Orlando front line, Embiid and co. need to be prepared to play with as much physicality as they can to pull as many offensive rebounds as possible.
Unlike the aforementioned teams, the Hornets have a terrible defense. In fact, they enter the week last in the entire NBA in defensive rating. That makes the key pretty simple: do not introduce any more variance than necessary by turning the ball over.
The attack against Denver should be coordinated to go after the weak links. Meanwhile, most of Charlotte's roster is made up of weak links. They lack any perimeter stoppers, they lack rim protection and they lack versatility. After three brutal matchups for the Sixers' offense, Nurse's team will be absolutely thrilled to end their week against perhaps the least-intimidating defense in the entire association.
