Do the Sixers have... momentum?
They have won three of their last four games — including an impressive victory over the red-hot Orlando Magic on Friday night — and, with Joel Embiid's health status up in the air from game to game, are finding ways to win without the former NBA MVP — who is now listed as questionable for this afternoon's game against the Chicago Bulls.
Ahead of the team's Sunday matinee, let's take a look at some interesting numbers detailing the good and bad of this recent stretch in the newest edition of Sunday stats:
32.7 percent
Tyrese Maxey's field goal percentage in the Sixers' last three games.
After two brilliant games last week in which the Sixers' All-Star point guard appeared to have broken out, Maxey has endured an ice-cold three-game stretch. Maxey's 43.6 true shooting percentage during this period is absolutely putrid, and largely the result of his 2-for-21 line on three-pointers.
Every player goes through slumps — and to some extent, they all have the right to do so without being lambasted — but those down periods are tougher for a team to stomach when they come from someone like Maxey, who must continue taking shots at enormous volume in hopes of finding the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Maxey has taken 17.3 total shot attempts per game during this mini-slump.
Paul George's return and continued assimilation into the Sixers' offense has made life much easier for many of the team's role players. But the Sixers have not been able to get Maxey and George in simultaneous grooves to help make up for Embiid's two extended absences. If Embiid is indeed on the cusp of being on the court and is available to play consistently — these are humungous "ifs," clearly — it could help accelerate Maxey's return to his peak form.
0
The total number of minutes Eric Gordon has played during the Sixers' last three games.
Gordon appears to be on the outside looking in at the Sixers' rotation now, a jarring turn of events after Sixers head coach Nick Nurse gave the veteran sharpshooter a starting nod on opening night. Gordon, one of the most accomplished three-point shooters in recent NBA history, has shot just 23.8 percent from three on the year. The sample size is small relative to the rest of his career, of course, but given Gordon's limitations in other areas of the game, subpar shooting numbers are just not viable at this point.
In terms of process, Gordon is the same player he has always been, which is a good one. But as Gordon has aged, he has had difficulty executing on the opportunities he can create for himself. He knows exactly when to pump fake and send a defender flying by to open up a driving lane, but is often unable to finish at the rim due to his lack of explosion:
Defensively, Gordon still has quick hands, but far too often is either overmatched by someone due to his deficiencies in terms of height or athleticism.
To be fair to Gordon, the instant the Sixers signed him to a contract for the veteran's minimum, it was clear that he and Embiid could benefit quite a bit from sharing the floor with each other. Yet Gordon and Embiid have only spent 16 minutes on the court together all year, stripping Gordon of an enormous crutch which would create him open three-point attempts.
+6.8
The Sixers' net rating in 84 minutes with KJ Martin and Guerschon Yabusele on the floor over the last five games.
Martin has been a recent revelation, giving the Sixers outstanding minutes in the frontcourt. He posted 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field,utilizing his elite athleticism by scoring in transition and remaining a stout defender across the positional spectrum. Nurse has spoken at length recently about how Martin enables the team to be more versatile on both ends of the floor, with his ability to switch on defense beingparamount.
Nurse has gone with Martin and Yabusele in the frontcourt quite a bit of late. Andre Drummond missing a pair of games certainly played a role in it, but Nurse and the Sixers may have stumbled into a pairing which works up front. Martin has improved as a three-point shooter, but will still be left open by opposing defenses. Yabusele, meanwhile, has already established a strong reputation for his ability to launch from long-range. Nominally, Martin is a power forward and Yabusele is a center when the two play together, but on offense their roles are inverted, as Yabusele's ability to space the floor enables Martin to slash, cut and finish in the dunker's spot.
"We both play well with each other. He can shoot the ball, so it helps a lot in certain situations," Martin said. "It's been fun playing with Guerschon, for sure."
Yabusele has been outstanding for the Sixers all season, already appearing to be one of the best players signed to a minimum contract in the entire NBA over the summer. But there is one area where Yabusele has yet to find his footing...
57.5 percent
Yabusele's free throw percentage as a Sixer.
The sample size here is small — Yabusele has made 23 of his 40 free throw attempts as a Sixer — but the enormity of his struggles as a shooter at the free throw line during this season has still been staggering. Yabusele, who has made 40.5 percent of his three-point tries while averaging four long-range attempts per game, is clearly a very good shooter.
During his extensive tenure with RealMadrid, Yabusele made272 of his 343 free throw attempts — good for a solid 79.3 free throw percentage. So, is his dreadful start to the season at the line a complete aberration? Time will tell.
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