January 03, 2024
The season is still just 33 games old — less than half — as the page turns to 2024, but the Sixers feel different this year.
With a new head coach, and a new supporting cast around Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey, things feel a little different.
In 2022-23, at this point in the season, the Sixers were 20-13 — they are 23-10 after handling the Bulls Tuesday night. That's pretty close. And considering they've probably played an easier schedule so far this season, the win difference makes some sense.
But in what ways so far, aside from the obvious, is Nick Nurse's squad different than Doc Rivers' last Philly team from a year ago? Here's a look at some basic statistical markers through the New Year this season compared with the previous campaign:
| Category | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
| Three-point % | .387 (1st) | .375 (8th) |
| FTM per game | 21 (1st) | 22.8 (1st) |
| FT % | .835 (1st) | .842 (2nd) |
| Assists per game | 25.2 (16th) | 25.5 (21st) |
| Steals per game | 4.7 (13th) | 9.1 (1st) |
| Turnovers per game | 13.7 (13th) | 12.7 (6th) |
| PPG | 115.2 (14th) | 120.7 (6th) |
| Point differential | 4.3 (3rd) | 10.2 (1st) |
| Offensive rating | 117.7 (4th) | 121.1 (4rd) |
| Defensive rating | 113.3 (9th) | 110.9 (2th) |
The numbers are incredibly similar. The team has more steals, and is better on defense, which one can likely credit both to having Nurse running things, and to Harden being replaced with a more defensive player in the starting lineup (either De'Anthony Melton or Kelly Oubre Jr.).
They appear to be shooting slightly fewer threes, about 3% less attempts on average this year while they are making them at a lower rate. They are also moving at a faster pace — they were 27th last year and are 15th this season.
But for the most part, things are pretty similar. Embiid's numbers are slightly up across the board, and he leads the entire NBA in usage rate (38%) this season. He was at 37% last year. Interestingly, Philly was 11-5 without Embiid last season and are just 2-5 so far in 2023-24, yet they have a better record this year.
The team might just be a little more reliant on Embiid, for better or for worse, on offense. And they're better on defense, which is certainly for the better.
All of these numbers will certainly be fresh in Daryl Morey's mind as he decides just how to tweak the roster when the trade deadline arrives in February.
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