Examining the Sixers’ Defensive Decline

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

It’s no secret that the Sixers have been a much worse defensive team since the trade deadline. The departure of Michael Carter-Williams and K.J. McDaniels has left them without two of their better, more versatile perimeter defenders. In the 7 games since the All-Star Break, the team has gone 1-6, in large part due to the fact that they’re allowed over 100 points 5 times (plus 94 to Indiana which is just as bad). So where exactly has the team been has the team been hurt the most?

Let’s take a look at the numbers from both January 1st to the All-Star Break (when the team really began to jell defensively), and the numbers since the All-Star Break. In the first part of 2015 (23 games), the team’s defensive rating was 100.4, a top-10 mark in the league. Since then, that mark has plummeted to has plummeted to 104.6, a bottom 5 rating in the NBA. However, it’s not that the team is allowing more offensive rebounds (with their DREB% rising slightly from 72.5 to 73.0), or that they’re turning the ball over more leading to easy transition points (as the team’s TO% is nearly identical at 18.6 and 18.7).

Instead, the Sixers have simply allowed opponents to shoot much better in recent contests. Prior to the All-Star Break, had the 4th-best defense in the restricted area, allowing opponents to shoot just 51.0% (thanks Nerlens!). In the most recent 7 games however, that mark has risen sharply to 56.4%, the 7th-worst percentage in the league. The other area of concern has been the area between 16-24 feet, with the defensive field goal percentage rising from 39.9% to 46.6%. The numbers from 8-16 feet and 24+ have been basically similar.

Anecdotally, I believe these decreases reflect the Sixers’ inability to switch off the ball now that they’re playing undersized guards. Off the pick-and-roll, opposing guards can either step into an open mid-range shot if the big man plays off (the 16-24 feet numbers), or find his open teammate on the roll if the Sixers big man hedges hard (numbers near the rim). Obviously, teams are able to stop pick-and-rolls without switching, but the Sixers weren’t schooled on such defensive schemes and they’ve had very limited practice time to work on anything since the roster overhaul.

Which leads to my final point: any defensive system requires constant communication between teammates and a in-depth knowledge of what your responsibility needs to be in any given situation. As the Sixers have proven, you can’t just throw a bunch of practical strangers together and expect good results to follow. However, for an organization with its eye on this May’s Draft Lottery, maybe these are the results hoped for by the suits upstairs.