Six Numbers That Define the Sixers Before Opening Night

By the 76ers Nightly Desk · Monday, October 19

Philadelphia opens at New York with a last-season net rating of -0.1 and a payroll above the first apron. Here is what the figures say about this team, and where they stop.

76ers Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Does last season's -0.1 net rating tell us who the Sixers are?

Partly. Last season Philadelphia went 45-37 with a 114.3 offensive rating and a 114.4 defensive rating, which is a dead-average team. But Joel Embiid played only 38 games, and LeBron James and Jaylen Brown were not here. The number proves the old group was ordinary. It proves nothing about this one.

How far behind are the Knicks, really?

Last season New York went 53-29 with a 6.4 net rating, 118.7 on offense and 112.3 on defense. Against our -0.1, that is a real gap. Philadelphia did win the October 5 meeting 120-97, and Josh Hart is day-to-day with an ankle issue. Neither fact erases a season of evidence. Treat that score as noise.

Is there enough ball for four scorers?

Here is the problem in one line: Brown scored 28.7 last season, Tyrese Maxey 28.3, Embiid 26.9 and James 20.9. Maxey played 38.0 minutes a night, James 33.2. Someone's usage drops. The numbers do not prove it fails, but a 1-3 preseason that ended in a 120-125 loss to Boston proves nothing the other way.

Is $213.2M of payroll buying a contender?

It is buying a very expensive bet. The payroll sits above the first apron and well past the $200.4M tax line, with Embiid at $58.1M, Brown at $57.1M and Maxey at $40.8M. VJ Edgecombe at $11.7M, after 16.0 points last season, is the value contract. Spending that much proves intent, not wins.

The verdictThe figures say average last season, expensive now, and untested together. Tuesday at the Knicks is the first real data point, and one game will not settle it.

What was the 76ers' record last season?

Philadelphia went 45-37 last season with a net rating of -0.1. The Knicks went 53-29 with a 6.4 net rating.

What is the Sixers' payroll this season?

The payroll is $213.2M, above the first apron and past the $200.4M tax line. Embiid, Brown and Maxey are the three biggest contracts.

By the 76ers Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.