I'm not sure anybody could have predicted that after a few weeks of regular season action in 2024-25, the Sixers would be universally regarded as one of the worst teams in the NBA. But their record and other numbers all agree — and so do the national experts.
Let's dive into a batch of recent NBA power rankings to see where folks are at on this Sixers team, including plenty of love for the player who represents the team's biggest bright spot of the season.
MORE: Where do Joel Embiid, Sixers go from here?
NBA.com: 26 (-1 from last week)
The national audience has taken notice of the stellar beginning of Sixers rookie guard Jared McCain's career. Writer John Schuhmann takes the first crack at giving the 20-year-old McCain his flowers:
"The good news is that the Sixers might have a big four once everybody is healthy because Jared McCain is a player… He’s been hunting shots, but also making some good decisions with the ball, picking up 10 assists in the loss (without Embiid and Paul George) to Cleveland on Wednesday. The Cavs went to a box-and-one defense out of a fourth-quarter timeout because McCain was doing so much damage (and perhaps as a tribute to Nick Nurse)." [NBA.com]
Speaking of Nurse, the Sixers' head coach had very little hesitation when it came to elevating McCain into his starting five. Particularly with Tyrese Maxey sidelined, the Sixers have been desperate for perimeter scoring, and McCain has given them far more of it than they ever could have imagined receiving from the rookie.
ESPN: 26 (-4 from last week)
It has been a rough go so far for the Sixers' stars, both in terms of availability and on-court production. Writer Tim Bontemps provides a sobering overview of the Sixers' inability to see the optimized version of their roster so far:
"Team meetings or not, the solution for the 76ers getting out of the East cellar is a simple one: more production from their stars. Philadelphia is being outscored by a staggering 20.4 points per 100 possessions when Joel Embiid is on the floor this season, and 12 points per 100 possessions when Paul George is playing. If those two start playing like All-Stars again, the 76ers will quickly start to look like a better team." [ESPN]
The Sixers took a major risk in shortening their depth to assemble a trio of All-Stars in Embiid, Maxey and George. So far, they have been burned by the three-star model of roster construction.
The Athletic: 29 (-5 from last week)
The first three words penned by writer Law Murray really tell you all you need to know:
"What a disaster. Maxey’s injury has actually helped a player like rookie Jared McCain emerge as a Rookie of the Year contender, but this is a three-star team that has yet to have its three stars play together. And even when Maxey gets back, the Sixers are several weeks from breaking even with the hole they are in. The wait for Joel Embiid (knee) to get healthy was a clamorous one, and all Embiid has done in three games since is shoot 32.4 percent from the field and 15.4 percent. He clearly isn’t close to the form the Sixers need him to be. And 15-year veteran Paul George isn’t much better, making it through only seven games while shooting 39.6 percent from the field. This is a flawed group, and it starts at the top." [The Athletic]
The Sixers hope this will be a time they can look back on as a period which came before a drastic turnaround, all while enabling McCain to display his potential to be a future star.
HoopsHype: 27
Focusing on one young player for each team, you could probably guess who writer Mike Shearer elected to focus on:
"McCain hasn’t just emerged as the early favorite for rookie of the year; he’s been the 76ers’ best player, period, in this recent stretch… McCain won’t keep up this kind of scoring if and when Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George ever come together healthy, but the fact that they can rely upon him to this level this early in his career is a fantastic sign." [HoopsHype]
Indeed, it is a marvelous sign that McCain is capable of taking on such a significant offensive workload — and his brilliant three-point shooting will make it easy to him to scale back his offensive role and still be a valuable contributor if the Sixers are able to eventually rely on their "Big 3" for primary scoring duties.
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