76ers' Biggest Weakness Makes Absolutely No Sense on Paper

The Philadelphia 76ers may be on a quest to win a championship, but what is the biggest thing holding them back?

It may be the fact that the center depth is very lackluster. Or, it could be the fact that their starters have only played a few games together. Actually, the biggest thing holding them back is their struggles in halfcourt offense.

The 76ers rank 20th in the NBA in half-court offense, and a large part of that is how they struggle moving the ball. If the team is moving the ball in transition, everything is fine. But, when there have been set plays called, it seems that Philadelphia may be out of their element. While it is true that this roster is still developing chemistry, it’s starting to get a bit obvious how this team goes about getting victories.

It’s part of the reason that the 76ers have such sluggish starts in the first half. Tyrese Maxey has done a tremendous job of keeping the team on track. LeBron James has been outstanding at feeding his teammates the ball for wide-open shots. It’s obvious why the 76ers made it a priority to sign the 23-time all-star. However, if this team can’t get it together, it may not be sustainable. 

Each player in that starting lineup has contributed to the team's victories in their own way, but it always comes at a price. That sacrifice seems to be the offensive side where victory is attainable through transition baskets and aggressive, smothering defense.  The problem with the teams’ offensive efficiency is the idea that one player feels like they have to do it themselves when basketball is a team sport. 

The biggest culprit of this is Jaylen Brown. Brown is a phenomenal defender who can get a shot or two to go, but most of his offensive production comes from shot-creating. Now, that works from time to time, but when you try to force the ball in, that's when things go wrong. Now Brown isn’t the only one who does this, but he’s the one who does it at the lowest efficiency rate. Brown’s offensive rating is at 100.1, down 13 points from a season ago. Some of it is attributed to the new team, but the rest is because he forces shots at the worst time. 

It’s still early in the season, and this team can certainly turn things around, but it’s going to have to start with fine-tuning this half-court offense.