Novig prices
76ers' 7-1 start backs some offseason doubts and buries others before Detroit rematch
Defense and ball movement have carried the 7-1 Sixers. Rebounding, shooting and backup center still look like problems ahead of Wednesday's game in Detroit.
The Philadelphia 76ers are 7-1 after eight games. Through that stretch, the summer's loudest worries about a roster stacked with stars have mostly been wrong, but the quieter ones about personnel have held up. In an early-season review for Liberty Ballers, syndicated by SB Nation and Yahoo Sports, Bryan Toporek says national critics mostly misread the team, and local coverage got more of it right.
Take the claim that there would be "only one ball" for LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown. It hasn't happened. Toporek points out that all four are averaging at least four assists, and the team sits just outside the top 10 in passes per game. Defense was supposed to be the soft spot, yet Philadelphia ranks third in the league in defensive rating. Brown called defense "non-negotiable" for this group. The question of who leads the team has also settled early, in Maxey's favor. He was the late-game answer at Indiana and scored a season-high 38 in the short-handed win at Charlotte on Halloween. The piece also rejects the idea that VJ Edgecombe's growth would stall next to the stars. His scoring is down, at 12.7 points per game, but he has pulled in 7.1 rebounds a night and accepted whatever role he's been given.
The concerns that held up are about size and spacing. Ariel Hukporti tore his Achilles in the preseason opener. Tacko Fall and Dominick Barlow haven't played yet, and Adem Bona has made little impact outside the one game Embiid missed. That leaves James and Dean Wade playing center in small lineups at times. The Sixers rank 24th in rebounding percentage, which is about where Nick Nurse's teams have usually finished. They are also 24th in three-point makes, 26th in attempts and 19th in offensive rating. Maxey is shooting just 33.9 percent from deep and should improve.
The record keeps climbing anyway. Monday's 126-107 win over Chicago was their fourth straight, as ESPN reported. According to NBC Sports, Maxey had 26 points and 11 assists, and Brown added 25 points and 11 rebounds.
What it means in Detroit
Wednesday's game against the Pistons tests the exact weakness the review flags. Detroit handed Philadelphia its only loss, 106-93 at home, on the night Embiid sat and the Sixers' lack of size showed. Maxey said after that game that it "would be great to get some of our tall guys to come back," and those players are still out. Since that loss, the Sixers have beaten Indiana, New York, Charlotte and Chicago. Three of those four wins came by five points or fewer, and five of the seven wins have come by single digits.
The board on this game's page has Detroit as a slight favorite across 10 venues. Novig lists the Pistons at -108 and the Sixers at +102. The best Philadelphia price anywhere is +106 at bet365, so the venues are only four cents apart on the Sixers' side. Novig has Detroit favored by 1.5 points, with Philadelphia at -102 to cover. Fanatics offers the Sixers +2 at -115. Novig's total is 218.5, and theScore Bet has the low number at 216.5. Sportsbook hold runs from 4.3 to 5.0 percent on the moneyline.
The close prices match the matchup. Philadelphia's defense has held up all season, but the Sixers' only loss came in a game decided on the glass, and nothing on the roster has changed that yet.