December 23, 2015
Remember a few weeks ago when the Sixers were blowing game after game down the stretch after staying competitive for three-plus quarters? Yeah, that isn’t happening anymore. They have lost their last six games by margins of 20, 19, 21, 20, 22, and 14 points respectively. These games are never in doubt.
Looking for the silverest lining possible? They have been excellent once the games get out of hand:
Sixers have spent a league high 15% of possessions in "garbage" time. And, uh, they're dominant then, outscoring opps by 10 pts/100 poss
— Dean Oliver (@DeanO_Lytics) December 23, 2015
While Festivus is the time for the airing of grievances (and judging from my Twitter timeline, fans are not happy right now), it’s a fact that these Sixers are really, really bad. Last night, I mentioned how they turn the ball over at a historic rate:
| Team (Record) | TOV% |
| 99-00 Bulls (17-65) | 18.0 |
| 95-96 Raptors (21-61) | 17.2 |
| 02-03 Nuggets (17-65) | 17.1 |
| 96-97 Knicks (57-25) | 17.0 |
| 15-16 Sixers (1-28) | 16.7 |
Why stop there, though? Using Basketball Reference’s Team Finder tool, I plugged in a few numbers to see where they rack up historically (since 1946-47, unless noted). Obviously, these numbers are from 30 games against teams that played full seasons:
Average Margin of Victory, -13.27 points: This is the third-worst mark, only ahead of the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (-13.91) and 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks (-15.20, yikes). Watch out on this West Coast trip, Charlotte.
Simple Rating System, -11.98: This is defined by Basketball Reference as “a rating that takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule.” The Sixers, who have played a legitimately tough schedule, are fourth from the bottom in this category, ahead of those same Charlotte and Dallas teams as well as the 1970-71 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Offensive rating, 93.9 points per 100 possessions: I would guess with the addition of Mike D’Antoni and Jahlil Okafor becoming more comfortable as the season moves along, the offense will make slight improvements. But right now, it’s the sixth-worst since 1973-74.
Obviously, these are the not numbers anybody wants to be associated with. The Sixers’ average age (22.4 years old) is the youngest in the league by a good bit, while their opponent last night (Memphis) has an average age of 30.8 years old. Old man Vince will do that to you.
Anybody who watches these games can tell they are seeing something historical. And yep, some of these numbers back that up.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
