National Basketball Association

Philadelphia 76ers: Checking In On "The Process"

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:17 p.m. ET

Fansided, Eric Spyropoulos/FanSided via Hoops Habit

With the NBA season nearly halfway complete, what have been the results of the first real season of “The Process” for the Philadelphia 76ers?

Everyone knows the story behind the Philadelphia 76ers in the past couple of years. Former general manager Sam Hinkie created a plan in 2013 to tear down the Sixers and rebuild them in to an NBA power, mainly through the NBA draft.

However, in the spring of 2016, the Sixers ownership had seen enough losing, and brought in Bryan Colangelo to replace Hinkie as GM, in hopes of speeding up the rebuilding process.

Colangelo went out and signed Gerald Henderson, Jerryd Bayless (who has only played three games this season), and Sergio Rodriguez, while also bringing over Dario Saric.

The real attention going in to the season was the play of Joel Embiid, who had missed the first two seasons of his career with foot injuries. With Ben Simmons going down before the regular season started, Embiid faced even more pressure and expectations to show the potential that made 76ers fans excited for the future.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how the Sixers have done so far, and what their future can hold over the next couple of months.

As of this writing, the 76ers are 12-25, good for 13th place in the Eastern Conference. However, the Sixers are actually 5-5 in their last 10 games, including winning five of their last six games.

Diving into the Sixers’ advanced stats, you can see clear improvements in various areas. In January, the Sixers are posting a 97.1 defensive rating, which if translated to a full season, would comfortably lead the NBA. Also, the Sixers have a net rating of only -0.1 in January, which essentially is a characteristic of a team that is .500 or above.

This has of course coincided with the surprisingly high contributions the team is receiving from Joel Embiid.

As I noted in my rankings of the young stars of the NBA, Joel Embiid has been great for the Sixers so far this season. Embiid’s numbers of 19.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game are elite as is, but then you have to consider that Embiid is only playing 25.1 minutes per game due to the minutes restriction the team has continued to place on him.

Looking at the advanced numbers, Embiid’s star potential is clear. Embiid is posting a 23.3 Player Efficiency Rating (on a 36.6 usage percentage), a 2.8 box plus-minus, and a 1.46 real plus-minus. Embiid has also been great as a defensive anchor for the Sixers:

It blows my mind the Sixers have a 101.1 DRTG with Joel Embiid on the floor. Even better, it's a 98.9 DRTG when Embiid is on without Okafor! https://t.co/cCqT4vMa3b

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 13, 2017

However, it’s not only Embiid that has been surprising the Sixers and their fans this season. After trading for Ersan Ilyasova early in the season, the Sixers have to be pleasantly surprised by the contributions they are receiving from him.

Ilyasova is averaging 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his 33 games for the Sixers this season. He also has an above average PER of 16.3, and an offensive box plus-minus of 1.5.

Also, when Nerlens Noel has played (which has been very rarely), he has been very good. Noel’s per-36 minute stats of 19.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 1.6 blocks are elite, and he also has an offensive rating of 127 with a box plus-minus of 3.3. Those are very good numbers. If the Sixers are looking to trade away one of their big men (and they should), then the team should be moving Jahlil Okafor, who is not only a defensive liability, but also doesn’t fit next to Embiid.

Moving forward, it’s not clear where the Sixers go from here. The team has been playing well recently, and will soon be boosted by the return of Ben Simmons. Many would argue that Simmons has even more potential than Embiid does, and those two players will be the cornerstones of the franchise for years to come.

Looking past this season, the Sixers have their own first round pick (which will most likely be a top seven selection) and may have the Lakers first round pick as well, if it falls out of the top three. Of course, the Sixers will have significant cap room, but it remains to be seen if marquee free agents will want to sign with them.

However, with Embiid showing superstar potential, along with the return of Ben Simmons and the plethora of cap space and draft picks, it is clear that although Sam Hinkie isn’t in charge anymore, “The Process” is alive and thriving for the Sixers.