Holiday Turnovers: Why do the Philadelphia 76ers keep turning the ball over?
The Philadelphia 76ers cough up the ball as much as any NBA squad. Could the team’s turnover problems be out of their control and stem from more than just sloppy play?
According to NBA advanced stats, the Philadelphia 76ers have turned the ball over 565 times this season, the most of any team in the NBA. By comparison, the least amount of turnovers in the Association belongs to the Milwaukee Bucks, who have only caughed the ball up 396 times this season.
That’s a difference of 169 (!!!) turnovers.
It’s easy to say that this shortcoming falls on coach Brett Brown’s shoulders, as he seems to be the direction all fingers point when Philly strikes adversity. Some fans chalk up the 565 blunders on the season to just sloppy play or even lack of talent, but I believe the issues run deeper.
So, why can’t our beloved Sixers hold onto the basketball? Here are some thoughts suggesting it may be out of the team’s control:
Age
This is obvious: the Sixers are young. According to RealGM, the average age of the Sixers roster is 25.3 years: only 5 teams are younger.
Usually, an influx of youth breeds extra turnovers. Younger players usually are adapting to the unique, ultra-specific and foreign flow of an NBA contest on the fly.
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The Sixers have tried to put a band-aid on this by bringing in 33-year-old JJ Redick, 30-year-old Amir Johnson and 29-year-old Jerryd Bayless over the last two seasons, but up to this point, they haven’t exactly absolved the team of their turnover issues.
Ben Simmons’ Measurables
Ben Simmons is a once-in-a-blue-moon type talent. He has the vision of a Magic Johnson, while at the same time, he having the downhill manpower of a LeBron James. At a glance, he has the height of an NBA power forward, but with the handles of an NBA guard.
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We have all been chalking up Simmons’ 6-foot-10 frame as a positive in his game, as most NBA point guards aren’t in the same stratosphere of height as Simmons. However, could his unusual height for his position be a magnet for turnovers?
When I think of I taller player, I imagine the ball being dribbled higher than if the player were shorter. A 6-foot-10 guard like Simmons would naturally have more distance between the ball and ground between each dribble than, say, a 6-foot point guard.
More distance could breed more opportunity for turnovers.
The average height of the starting point guards the Sixers have faced in the last 10 games is a little over 6-foot-2. Looking at height alone, it’s hard to ignore the possibility that Simmons may be at a disadvantage for getting the ball swiped compared to other more smaller, compact point guards.
It will be interesting to see how/if this effects Simmons as his career progresses.
No Embiid, No Spacing
Joel Embiid has missed eight games this season. However, five of those eight games have come within the last seven Sixers contests.
In the five games Embiid has missed recently, the Sixers are averaging 19.6 turnovers per game. The Sixers have struggled with turning the ball over with Embiid on the floor as well. But, the difference in spacing when he is absent is clear.
Whenever Embiid catches the ball on the wing/baseline, defenses (at times) tend to have a second defender float around and keep an eye on number 21. This can lead to less clutter surrounding the other four Sixers on the floor, as Embiid now has the attention of two defenders.
Guys like Redick, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Robert Covington, and Bayless are more equipped to thrive when spacing exists, as this Sixers team has a handful of players who are comfortable spot up shooters.
Bottom-line: better spacing=less opportunities to turn the ball over.
No matter what the cause, the Sixers need to fix their turnover problems to pick up more wins.
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The Sixers, who have lost eight of nine, will be in Toronto for a tilt with the Raptors tonight before heading back to the states to face the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Hopefully, these turnover woes don’t continue into the new year.