Sixers 2022 offseason thread: Run it back edition(but for real this time)

[Ferry Avenue]

-

I'm glad you responded because I was listening to this today and wanted to share it. Trae weirdly iterated the same point I was trying to earlier, like verbatim.

43:12 -> 43:42

Watch on YouTube

Surrounding pieces making plays are so crucial for dictating the type of coverages your star players see. You have to have adequate floor spacing and guys that can threaten a defense from alternative angles. It just cyclically opens up the floor for the game to be brought home by your best talents.

The fact that Harden has to be doubled essentially a quarter of all of his possessions is already superstar level irreplaceable impact, but it's for naught if the players around him can't capitalize upon it.

Sure, but the cornerstone of your point -- that the Sixers had inadequate shooting in the playoffs -- doesn't exist.

Your point is certainly theoretically sound and applies to basketball in general, but it doesn't apply to the Sixers specifically unless you can show they shot the ball significantly more poorly than other teams in the playoffs, especially the remaining ones.

Again the relevant data are here:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs

And again that suggests some other important factor was at play in their second-round exit, and I posit that was the unreliable contributions of Harden and Maxey.

The only significant predictors of the Sixers' point differential post-Harden acquisition (in games both Harden and Embiid played, including the playoffs) was the scoring of Maxey and Harden, in that order. If the team didn't get scoring contributions from them, it was far less likely to win. And that's certainly a problem when the scoring of those players is unreliable and up and down.

Look no further than the inconsistency of Harden and Maxey for the cause of this team's demise in 2022.

[stormi]

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I'm glad you responded because I was listening to this today and wanted to share it. Trae weirdly iterated the same point I was trying to earlier, like verbatim.

43:12 -> 43:42

Watch on YouTube

Surrounding pieces making plays are so crucial for dictating the type of coverages your star players see. You have to have adequate floor spacing and guys that can threaten a defense from alternative angles. It just cyclically opens up the floor for the game to be brought home by your best talents.

The fact that Harden has to be doubled essentially a quarter of all of his possessions is already superstar level irreplaceable impact, but it's for naught if the players around him can't capitalize upon it.

Sure, but the cornerstone of your point -- that the Sixers had inadequate shooting in the playoffs -- doesn't exist.

Your point is certainly theoretically sound and applies to basketball in general, but it doesn't apply to the Sixers specifically unless you can show they shot the ball significantly more poorly than other teams in the playoffs, especially the remaining ones.

Again the relevant data are here:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs

And again that suggests some other important factor was at play in their second-round exit, and I posit that was the unreliable contributions of Harden and Maxey.

The only significant predictors of the Sixers' point differential post-Harden acquisition (in games both Harden and Embiid played, including the playoffs) was the scoring of Maxey and Harden, in that order. If the team didn't get scoring contributions from them, it was far less likely to win. And that's certainly a problem when the scoring of those playersIt' is unreliable and up and down.

Look no further than the inconsistency of Harden and Maxey for this team's demise in 2022.

It's not just about shooting, shot creation in general was massively lacking. Being able to collapse a defense with dribble penetration. 85% of this roster cannot put the ball on the floor or attack the rim with any sort of confidence.

The Heat had no reason to split from their game plan of trapping Harden because nobody else posed even a fragment of threat to them besides 21 year old Tyrese Maxey to an extent, and even he's still finding his way.

Embiid being hobbled contributed massively to this, and so did Harris/Niang/Milton/Korkmaz/DAJ being non threatening offensive (and defensive) presences.

The 76ers outshot the Heat from 3 but it didn't eliminate the gravity commanded by Strus/Vincent/Herro that allowed Butler freedom to work at a much higher rate. You can't help off threatening shooters which is what makes 38 year old Danny Green so much more impactful than Matisse Thybulle.

After Embiid and Maxey there just aren't enough guys here that can create something beneficial off of the overwhelming attention James Harden commands defenses and that attention he does command is extremely valuable.

[mjkvol]

I'm glad you responded because I was listening to this today and wanted to share it. Trae weirdly iterated the same point I was trying to earlier, like verbatim.

43:12 -> 43:42

Watch on YouTube

Surrounding pieces making plays are so crucial for dictating the type of coverages your star players see. You have to have adequate floor spacing and guys that can threaten a defense from alternative angles. It just cyclically opens up the floor for the game to be brought home by your best talents.

The fact that Harden has to be doubled essentially a quarter of all of his possessions is already superstar level irreplaceable impact, but it's for naught if the players around him can't capitalize upon it.

Sure, but the cornerstone of your point -- that the Sixers had inadequate shooting in the playoffs -- doesn't exist.

Your point is certainly theoretically sound and applies to basketball in general, but it doesn't apply to the Sixers specifically unless you can show they shot the ball significantly more poorly than other teams in the playoffs, especially the remaining ones.

Again the relevant data are here:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs

And again that suggests some other important factor was at play in their second-round exit, and I posit that was the unreliable contributions of Harden and Maxey.

The only significant predictors of the Sixers' point differential post-Harden acquisition (in games both Harden and Embiid played, including the playoffs) was the scoring of Maxey and Harden, in that order. If the team didn't get scoring contributions from them, it was far less likely to win. And that's certainly a problem when the scoring of those playersIt' is unreliable and up and down.

Look no further than the inconsistency of Harden and Maxey for this team's demise in 2022.

It's not just about shooting, shot creation in general was massively lacking. Being able to collapse a defense with dribble penetration. 85% of this roster cannot put the ball on the floor or attack the rim with any sort of confidence.

The Heat had no reason to split from their game plan of trapping Harden because nobody else posed even a fragment of threat to them besides 21 year old Tyrese Maxey to an extent, and even he's still finding his way.

Embiid being hobbled contributed massively to this, and so did Harris/Niang/Milton/Korkmaz/DAJ being non threatening offensive (and defensive) presences.

The 76ers outshot the Heat from 3 but it didn't eliminate the gravity commanded by Strus/Vincent/Herro that allowed Butler freedom to work at a much higher rate. You can't help off threatening shooters which is what makes 38 year old Danny Green so much more impactful than Matisse Thybulle.

After Embiid and Maxey there just aren't enough guys here that can create something beneficial off of the overwhelming attention James Harden commands defenses and that attention he does command is extremely valuable.

I'm officially stopping this fight before you inflict any more damage.

[Ferry Avenue]

I'm glad you responded because I was listening to this today and wanted to share it. Trae weirdly iterated the same point I was trying to earlier, like verbatim.

43:12 -> 43:42

Watch on YouTube

Surrounding pieces making plays are so crucial for dictating the type of coverages your star players see. You have to have adequate floor spacing and guys that can threaten a defense from alternative angles. It just cyclically opens up the floor for the game to be brought home by your best talents.

The fact that Harden has to be doubled essentially a quarter of all of his possessions is already superstar level irreplaceable impact, but it's for naught if the players around him can't capitalize upon it.

Sure, but the cornerstone of your point -- that the Sixers had inadequate shooting in the playoffs -- doesn't exist.

Your point is certainly theoretically sound and applies to basketball in general, but it doesn't apply to the Sixers specifically unless you can show they shot the ball significantly more poorly than other teams in the playoffs, especially the remaining ones.

Again the relevant data are here:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs

And again that suggests some other important factor was at play in their second-round exit, and I posit that was the unreliable contributions of Harden and Maxey.

The only significant predictors of the Sixers' point differential post-Harden acquisition (in games both Harden and Embiid played, including the playoffs) was the scoring of Maxey and Harden, in that order. If the team didn't get scoring contributions from them, it was far less likely to win. And that's certainly a problem when the scoring of those playersIt' is unreliable and up and down.

Look no further than the inconsistency of Harden and Maxey for this team's demise in 2022.

It's not just about shooting, shot creation in general was massively lacking. Being able to collapse a defense with dribble penetration. 85% of this roster cannot put the ball on the floor or attack the rim with any sort of confidence.

The Heat had no reason to split from their game plan of trapping Harden because nobody else posed even a fragment of threat to them besides 21 year old Tyrese Maxey to an extent, and even he's still finding his way.

Embiid being hobbled contributed massively to this, and so did Harris/Niang/Milton/Korkmaz/DAJ being non threatening offensive (and defensive) presences.

The 76ers outshot the Heat from 3 but it didn't eliminate the gravity commanded by Strus/Vincent/Herro that allowed Butler freedom to work at a much higher rate. You can't help off threatening shooters which is what makes 38 year old Danny Green so much more impactful than Matisse Thybulle.

After Embiid and Maxey there just aren't enough guys here that can create something beneficial off of the overwhelming attention James Harden commands defenses and that attention he does command is extremely valuable.

Well, if you want to broaden the reason for the team's demise beyond shooting, then your point is entirely different, and then I can start to agree with it. Whether Harden and Maxey pose any kind of threat off the dribble is certainly an important facet of the Sixers' performance. And unfortunately it was far too inconsistent.

[HardenGoat]

I agree with Stormis assessment. One of the things that made the Rockets a top contender was the fact CP3 was a master playmaker as well and could score. Harden has always been doubled not simply because he himself is a scoring risk, it’s because he can pick apart a defense and find the open players. When Green went out and Embiids shots were off due to injury the season was over. Getting another scorer/shooter that can handle the ball will pay huge dividends. Tobias is nowhere near the electric scorer Lavine is especially from 3. He would fit in great, we need that kind of athleticism.

[FireMorey]

I'd welcome LaVine or Beal. I think I'd prefer Beal. Not necessarily because he's a better player, it's more of a gut feeling thing. I think LaVine also had an ACL tear in his past as well. The knees scare me. I think he's more explosive than Beal. I think Beal is more methodical. Really depends on your flavor. I think Beal is probably more realistic considering the smoke around him and the Sixers. There is no real smoke regarding LaVine and the Sixers. It's all because of that Thybulle rumor, which is totally unrelated.

[sixers4real]

-

I'm glad you responded because I was listening to this today and wanted to share it. Trae weirdly iterated the same point I was trying to earlier, like verbatim.

43:12 -> 43:42

Watch on YouTube

Surrounding pieces making plays are so crucial for dictating the type of coverages your star players see. You have to have adequate floor spacing and guys that can threaten a defense from alternative angles. It just cyclically opens up the floor for the game to be brought home by your best talents.

The fact that Harden has to be doubled essentially a quarter of all of his possessions is already superstar level irreplaceable impact, but it's for naught if the players around him can't capitalize upon it.

All of that tells me Morey has to start with Harris + Thybulle being gone. Harris has massive contract, Thybulle has some value around the league. If it would mean adding this years draft pick and Springer, while getting depth or good/great player, Morey will do it.

[ProcessDoctor]

I’m kind of upset there’s been a ton of smoke with us and Beal but not LaVine. Zach is younger, a better shooter, more athletic, taller, and scores fewer assisted field goals. Both have legitimate question marks regarding durability.

Part of me thinks maybe Embiid has been hounding Morey to go for Beal, thus LaVine hasn’t been evaluated as closely and/or Beal has signaled he wants to come here and LaVine hasn’t.

[eyeatoma]

I’m kind of upset there’s been a ton of smoke with us and Beal but not LaVine. Zach is younger, a better shooter, more athletic, taller, and scores fewer assisted field goals.

Part of me thinks maybe Embiid has been hounding Morey to go for Beal, thus LaVine hasn’t been evaluated as closely and/or Beal has signaled he wants to come here and LaVine hasn’t.

Yeah I think it's more the latter. The only real way we can keep Maxey is if a star demands to come here so we can pull a trade ala Harden. If LaVine doesn't say anything, then we'd have to include Tyrese. Who knows it might change. I'd prefer Zach but the issue is that he apparently wants to be the #1 option, which he wouldn't be here. I'd say he'd be 2 or 3.

[Mik317]

I don't buy what LaVar says but if he wants out of Chicago for those reasons playing 3rd and potentially 4th fiddle here doesn't make much sense to me..

[76ciology]

We have three of the 11 most doubled players in the playoffs and the other two starters still could not make a noticeable impact when we badly needed contributions from them.

Harden/Embiid/Maxey is a championship caliber trio. The rest of this roster as currently constructed is dog.

Hang on now -- you can't double all three of those guys at the same time -- you'd need six defenders.

No more than one of those guys is being doubled at a time. The other two (and others) need to step up and make big contributions at those times. If Embiid is being doubled for example, Harden needs to take more than two shots and score zero points in the second half of a playoff elimination game. That was the glaring absence for this team, most recently.

Not at the same time obviously.

It just points emphasis to how defenses were operating. They knew that by swarming our top guys nobody else could beat us. Less likely if Joel Embiid was healthy because he's become an above average distributor off the basketball against the trap and while still being an elite difficult shot maker.

Embiid against Miami though games 4-6 and even games 1 & 2 highlighted how defenses sold out to prevent Harden from scoring the ball. It was really only so much he could do at his current stage but hope his gravity, presence and playmaking could open up the floor for other guys to step up.

Maxey did a bit, but he's still developing and this series was a big learning process for him. Our other max contract? Crickets.

I know you hate Tobi.
We both want him traded.

Nobody is saying here or anywhere Tobi should be paid more. But Tobi isn’t the problem in the playoffs. He was more than decent in knocking 3s, good in transition, good in attacking mismatch and good on defense.

Tobi defended Siakam and Jimmy, those two are the team’s top scorers. He was able to slow down Siakam while he were able to defend those two on single coverage.

Tobi is NOT the guy to pinpoint for our woes like Embiid being emotional in game 5 against Heat or Harden checking out in game 6 against Heat.

Nobody expects Tobi to live up to his contract. If you want to talk how he’s overpaid, nobody cares because everyone agrees with you.

Nevertheless..

I do think Tobi should be traded. I dont think Tobi fits on this team we’re building unless he can slide to SF. I do think we need size to play along Embiid.

And yet we need the replacement to be able to defend 2-3-4 like Tobi

The opponent can’t afford to hide their weak link on defense like Tobi

Score on 3s, attack close outs and score on transition like Tobi.

BUT we need someone who can help our size, defensive and rebounding problem, unlike Tobi.

[ProcessDoctor]

I’m kind of upset there’s been a ton of smoke with us and Beal but not LaVine. Zach is younger, a better shooter, more athletic, taller, and scores fewer assisted field goals.

Part of me thinks maybe Embiid has been hounding Morey to go for Beal, thus LaVine hasn’t been evaluated as closely and/or Beal has signaled he wants to come here and LaVine hasn’t.

Yeah I think it's more the latter. The only real way we can keep Maxey is if a star demands to come here so we can pull a trade ala Harden. If LaVine doesn't say anything, then we'd have to include Tyrese. Who knows it might change. I'd prefer Zach but the issue is that he apparently wants to be the #1 option, which he wouldn't be here. I'd say he'd be 2 or 3.

If true, then we have to pass. I would assume Beal is ready to buy in and sacrifice his individual stats if he’s willing to come here. No need to pursue someone who’s only looking to get their own, especially when we’ll probably be managing Maxey in that regard if we add another star (no knock on Tyrese, but he’ll only be 22).

[76ciology]

Read on Twitter

This is the team Morey envisioned.

Two guys who can attract double teams then kicking it out to shooters. This also explains why we dont let Harden to just bomb away. Shooting open 3s is better than shooting 30% on 12 3s a game.

The problem is our offense is stale. Either nobody is moving or everyone is confused on where to position once doubled.

Green, Thybulle or Niang are limited off ball. Green is a bad scorer on closeouts or in the paint. Thybulle can’t space the floor and Niang is just a spot up shooter.

Compare it to how Warriors play offense. Warriors doesnt attract doubles like we do. But defense tends to be lost often with their movement and screenplay.

The goal is scoring the basket, but we probably are just focused on the process of attracting double teams to much.

Once we attract double team and collapse the defense. The defense can trap to delay. Then go back to defense or just run zone like Heat do.

Another thing is teams can put a guy like Tucker or Barnes that can switch to Embiid where Embiid has a hard time scoring or not turning the ball over on 1v1.

These are the issues we have

Watch on YouTube

We are like the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe but with Del Harris as coach.

We need to run a system that can punish the defense if they opt to send help defense and make the scramble to run zone or go back to their man.

Our offense is TOO elementary.

But again, maybe its the personnel because Thybulle, Green and Niang are limited on offense.

Let’s say we have Andrew Wiggins as our 5th guy. I think Maxey, Wiggins and Tobias can all play off the ball. Spot up, attack close outs, cut to the basket. The next is just having more chemistry to a more complex offensive system.

[blargh]

Read on Twitter

This is the team Morey envisioned.

Two guys who can attract double teams then kicking it out to shooters. This also explains why we dont let Harden to just bomb away. Shooting open 3s is better than shooting 30% on 12 3s a game.

The problem is our offense is stale. Either nobody is moving or everyone is confused on where to position once doubled.

Green, Thybulle or Niang are limited off ball. Green is a bad scorer on closeouts or in the paint. Thybulle can’t space the floor and Niang is just a spot up shooter.

Compare it to how Warriors play offense. Warriors doesnt attract doubles like we do. But defense tends to be lost often with their movement and screenplay.

The goal is scoring the basket, but we probably are just focused on the process of attracting double teams to much.

Once we attract double team and collapse the defense. The defense can trap to delay. Then go back to defense or just run zone like Heat do.

Another thing is teams can put a guy like Tucker or Barnes that can switch to Embiid where Embiid has a hard time scoring or not turning the ball over on 1v1.

That’s a really eye opening stat, and i think it actually gives a lot of hope for the future. I don’t think I can come to the same conclusion as you: if you’re averaging 1.2ppp on your double teams at high volume, that part of your offense is not stale. My take from this chart is that Embiid was not being doubled enough: he should be way at the top of this list. We weren’t successful enough in getting him the ball when Miami fronted. That, plus our defense and rebounding problems meant we were working with less possessions every game.

If Embiid was healthy, I’m pretty sure he would have cooked Tucker on switches. He did cook Barnes on switches.

[Ferry Avenue]

Read on Twitter

This is the team Morey envisioned.

Two guys who can attract double teams then kicking it out to shooters. This also explains why we dont let Harden to just bomb away. Shooting open 3s is better than shooting 30% on 12 3s a game.

The problem is our offense is stale. Either nobody is moving or everyone is confused on where to position once doubled.

Green, Thybulle or Niang are limited off ball. Green is a bad scorer on closeouts or in the paint. Thybulle can’t space the floor and Niang is just a spot up shooter.

Compare it to how Warriors play offense. Warriors doesnt attract doubles like we do. But defense tends to be lost often with their movement and screenplay.

The goal is scoring the basket, but we probably are just focused on the process of attracting double teams to much.

Once we attract double team and collapse the defense. The defense can trap to delay. Then go back to defense or just run zone like Heat do.

Another thing is teams can put a guy like Tucker or Barnes that can switch to Embiid where Embiid has a hard time scoring or not turning the ball over on 1v1.

That’s a really eye opening stat, and i think it actually gives a lot of hope for the future. I don’t think I can come to the same conclusion as you: if you’re averaging 1.2ppp on your double teams at high volume, that part of your offense is not stale. My take from this chart is that Embiid was not being doubled enough: he should be way at the top of this list. We weren’t successful enough in getting him the ball when Miami fronted. That, plus our defense and rebounding problems meant we were working with less possessions every game.

If Embiid was healthy, I’m pretty sure he would have cooked Tucker on switches. He did cook Barnes on switches.

Part of that picture is on Embiid however. When he's being guarded by a smaller and weaker player like Adebayo (and others, like Toronto's bigs for example), he needs to do more work without the ball in muscling them for position in the paint, rather than continuing to get "entry" passes on the perimeter like a wing. Embiid needs to be flexible enough to beat teams with a different style of play that takes advantage of the mismatch he can create. There is no reason why Bam Adebayo's job should be made so much easier in defending Embiid as a "wing" on the perimeter. That plays right into Adebayo and the Heat's hand.

Again Embiid is the "Derrick Henry" of the NBA -- he's the best player in the league at the wrong position with regard to winning. But certainly the Tennessee Titans wouldn't take the field against a team with a great pass defense and a poor run defense and pass the ball all day -- they'd run Henry. Similarly, Embiid needs to establish himself in the paint against teams that don't have the bigs to contend with his size and strength.

[blargh]

Part of that picture is on Embiid however. When he's being guarded by a smaller and weaker player like Adebayo (and others, like Toronto's bigs for example), he needs to do more work without the ball in muscling them for position in the paint, rather than continuing to get "entry" passes on the perimeter like a wing. Embiid needs to be flexible enough to beat teams with a different style of play that takes advantage of the mismatch he can create. There is no reason why Bam Adebayo's job should be made so much easier in defending Embiid as a "wing" on the perimeter. That plays right into Adebayo and the Heat's hand.

.

That’s true, but i would say three things. One, Jo got a lot more contact averse in terms of muscling small guys once they broke his face. Two, feeding the ball over a fronting defender is often about the rest of the team as well: are they clearing enough space to allow Embiid to move towards the basket on a lob catch? Are we using other guys to redirect the pass into the post from another angle? Three, I still maintain the best way to get the ball to Embiid is letting him roll off a screen. He has to want to do that more.

[eyeatoma]

Jo has the best gravity in the league. Basically the best scorer in basketball, need to surround him with elite shooting.

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

[Ferry Avenue]

Jo has the best gravity in the league. Basically the best scorer in basketball, need to surround him with elite shooting.

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

3P% by team in this year's playoffs:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs

3P% by team in the regular season:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season

If "elite" means best in the league, then by surrounding Embiid with "elite" shooting the team will increase its 3P% in the regular season by a mere 1.5%, and in the playoffs by a mere 0.5% (among the teams with a sufficient sample of games).

Those kinds of improvements in shooting are somehow supposed to vault the team to some significantly better level of play?

When you're proposing that some area of the team needs to improve, first make sure it isn't already performing at an adequate level.

[eyeatoma]

Jo has the best gravity in the league. Basically the best scorer in basketball, need to surround him with elite shooting.

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

3P% by team in this year's playoffs:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs

3P% by team in the regular season:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season

If "elite" means best in the league, then by surrounding Embiid with "elite" shooting the team will increase its 3P% in the regular season by a mere 1.5%, and in the playoffs by a mere 0.5% (among the teams with a sufficient sample of games).

Those kinds of improvements in shooting are somehow supposed to vault the team to some significantly better level of play?

When you're proposing that some area of the team needs to improve, first make sure it isn't already performing at an adequate level.

Difference is, other teams don't have Joel Embiid. So it's likely that if he has "elite" shooters the increase will be better than 1.5%.

Let's be honest here, you really think Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Furkan Korkmaz, Isaiah Joe, George Niang and Shake Milton are Elite shooters?

Harden has reduced the number of shots he's taking. Maxey has elite percentages but needs to take more shots. Tobias is a slightly above average shooter who needs to take twice as many shots.

The rest? They are woefully below average, barely good enough to get a rotation spot in the NBA team. Sorry, I forgot Niang, he's been good, but he flopped in the playoffs, most probably due to injury.

So overall, according to league performance we have performed well as 3 point shooting team. My point is, that no one has the gravity Joel Embiid does, add, actually good shooters, and the increase is going to be far better than what you think it is.

[Ferry Avenue]

Jo has the best gravity in the league. Basically the best scorer in basketball, need to surround him with elite shooting.

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

3P% by team in this year's playoffs:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs

3P% by team in the regular season:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?PerMode=Totals&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season

If "elite" means best in the league, then by surrounding Embiid with "elite" shooting the team will increase its 3P% in the regular season by a mere 1.5%, and in the playoffs by a mere 0.5% (among the teams with a sufficient sample of games).

Those kinds of improvements in shooting are somehow supposed to vault the team to some significantly better level of play?

When you're proposing that some area of the team needs to improve, first make sure it isn't already performing at an adequate level.

Difference is, other teams don't have Joel Embiid. So it's likely that if he has "elite" shooters the increase will be better than 1.5%.

Let's be honest here, you really think Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Furkan Korkmaz, Isaiah Joe, George Niang and Shake Milton are Elite shooters?

Harden has reduced the number of shots he's taking. Maxey has elite percentages but needs to take more shots. Tobias is a slightly above average shooter who needs to take twice as many shots.

The rest? They are woefully below average, barely good enough to get a rotation spot in the NBA team. Sorry, I forgot Niang, he's been good, but he flopped in the playoffs, most probably due to injury.

So overall, according to league performance we have performed well as 3 point shooting team. My point is, that no one has the gravity Joel Embiid does, add, actually good shooters, and the increase is going to be far better than what you think it is.

In the past five years of regular season play there has been but one team that has eclipsed 40% 3P shooting on the season -- the Clippers in 2020-2021.

Certainly that means it's possible for the Sixers to rise to a significantly higher level in that area, but the fact that a mere one team has done so in the past five years makes it unlikely.

I mean there is a way the league functions and a ceiling on that in every area of play. It's unlikely that a team is going to blast through the league's ceiling in some area. But who knows, maybe the team we root for can do it.