November 10, 2024
Jonathan Hui/Imagn Images
The Sixers' depth has been tested early in the season -- and several critical role players are not responding well.
The bad news: the Sixers are 1-7. The good news: Joel Embiid is expected to make his season debut on Tuesday, perhaps signaling a light at the end of this brutal tunnel.
With Embiid and Paul George sidelined, the Sixers' most critical role players have failed to make ends meet. With Embiid and Tyrese Maxey sidelined, the issues have only escalated.
In this week's Sunday stats, let's take a look at the numbers which define the struggles of some crucial Sixers supporting cast members:
Kelly Oubre Jr.'s season-long true shooting percentage through eight games (14 percent below league average, according to basketball-reference).
Oubre deserves credit for being the only member of the Sixers' core role players who can scale their offensive role up or down in a meaningful way during any given game. He is never going to be very efficient as a high-volume shot-taker, but he is at least capable of getting downhill and pressuring the rim or taking pull-up threes.
With that being said, it has been a rough go for the veteran swingman through eight games. His shooting splits are all in the tank, punctuated by a brutal 4-of-16 shooting performance during the Sixers' Friday night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers:
Kelly Oubre Jr. has posted career-lows in three-point percentage (27.3) and true shooting percentage (49.0) through eight games in 2024-25. pic.twitter.com/MvdVrOlUcK
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 10, 2024
Last season, the difference in Oubre's production when Embiid was available versus when Embiid was sidelined was night and day. Oubre did an excellent job of fitting around the former NBA MVP, but has remained unable to find his footing when Embiid is off the floor.
Embiid's pending return is a positive development for Oubre, but the Sixers still need him to play a whole lot better. Once Embiid is playing, it would be wise of Nurse to tie Oubre's minutes to those of Embiid as much as he can.
Andre Drummond's Net Rating (point differential per 100 possessions) in 2024-25.
After Friday night's game, Drummond's brutal figure here did not just have him lower than any Sixer, but the fourth-lowest among 255 NBA players with at least five games played and 15 minutes per game (the three players below him are all members of the Utah Jazz).
Drummond has built an impressive track record as a dominating force on a per-minute basis over the last several years. In Joel Embiid's absence, it has become clear that -- as is the case for many players with terrific rate stats -- those numbers do not actually indicate that a player needs a larger role.
In Drummond's case, fewer minutes will mean fewer opportunities for poor decisions with the ball like this one:
Andre Drummond's -19.6 Net Rating in 2024-25 ranks 252nd among 255 NBA players with at least five games played + 15 minutes per game: pic.twitter.com/0sEh4JadnQ
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 10, 2024
Nurse has been open about his desire to use Drummond and Embiid together in certain lineups. Nurse said he played the two of them together multiple times during Embiid's very first full practice. But with the way Drummond is struggling -- and the way Guerschon Yabusele and KJ Martin have continued to improve as the season has progressed -- it may be an idea Nurse has to table for the time being.
MORE: Should Embiid and Drummond play together?
Kyle Lowry's minutes per game in 2024-25.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has repeatedly said his goal for Lowry is to play somewhere between 18 and 20 minutes per game. His season average was far ahead of that even before he led the entire team with 32 minutes on Friday night.
Nurse expressed after that game a desire to find avenues to ease Lowry's burden. One might be to give rookie Jared McCain a chance to serve as a point guard; the overwhelming majority of McCain's minutes to date have come in an off-ball role. But that is a lot to ask of the Duke product. A simpler solution could be to not only use veteran point guard Reggie Jackson off the bench, but also two-way player Jeff Dowtin Jr., who Nurse has plenty of trust in.
Lowry's inability to create separation of any kind off the dribble due to his continually-diminishing athleticism has put him in a bind offensively. He is essentially a non-threat to score inside of the arc.
Kyle Lowry has only attempted six two-point shots in 2024-25 (159 minutes). His assist rates are continuing to reach drastic lows.
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 7, 2024
Lowry's explosion has continued to decline, rendering him incapable of creating off-the-dribble advantages: pic.twitter.com/sBooZ15Rgm
The saving grace here has been that Lowry is shooting the lights out from three-point range, knocking down 47.1 percent of his long-range tries on the season -- even after a 1-for-6 showing against the Lakers. Lowry may need to be an elite spot-up shooter to continue to serve as a quality rotation piece.
The number of extremely impressive blocks from KJ Martin on Friday night that I felt compelled to include in a story.
This weak-side rotation and ensuing block from Martin -- sending back the dunk attempt of Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht -- was just too impressive to ignore:
KJ Martin uses his ridiculous athleticism and strong instincts to pull off an impressive block: pic.twitter.com/gEOorcdO6v
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 10, 2024
Martin told PhillyVoice in the locker room hours earlier that he felt he was doing a much better job of utilizing his outstanding athleticism in games than he did with the Sixers last year, and a play like this is one where he was able to display just how incredible of a leaper he is. (Be on the lookout for more on that conversation in the next few days).
Perhaps the best part of this play is not picked up in the highlight: Martin's dad, 15-year NBA veteran and former No. 1 overall pick Kenyon Martin Sr., was not just in attendance for this game, but he was sitting directly behind the basket as his son went up and denied Knecht. A California native, Martin had plenty of family and friends in the crowd on Friday.
Not a bad moment for a family reunion!
MORE: Sixers 106, Lakers 116
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