The Numbers Behind Philadelphia's 7-3 Start

The Philadephia 76ers entered the 2020-2021 regular season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) with a new coach in Doc Rivers. They also acquired the services of Danny Green and Dwight Howard during the 2020 offseason. They also acquired Seth Curry, Terrence Ferguson, and Tony Bradley. On top of that, Joel Embiid is playing a legitimate candidate for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. 

At 7-3 after the first ten games of the new season, the Sixers are tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. While they are on a two-game losing streak after dropping one against the Denver Nuggets where they only had seven players available, the Sixers have already established early in the season that they can against anyone as long as the players are healthy. That and if Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons can continue to mature as a duo for Philadelphia.  

Joel Embiid is currently among the early candidates for the MVP award this season. In eight games he played thus far, he normed 24 points, 11 rebounds, 1.8 blocks while shooting 52% from the field including an improved 45% shooting from the three-point line. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons is only averaging 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and 1.4 steals. And yet, the Sixers are doing just fine because Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, and Shake Milton are averaging at least 14 points a night. Curry, who tested positive for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), is actually shooting 59% from the three-point line- the third-best in the league.

Philadelphia ranks as the eighth-best defensive team in the NBA, only limiting opponents to 107 points per game.  They are also limiting opponents to only 42% field goal shooting- tied for the best in the league. While the Sixers are averaging a second-to-the-worse 16 turnovers per game, 

The Sixers are poised for another good season in the Eastern Conference. It's just a matter of consistency. 

Photo is from CBS Sports