76ers slip to No. 5 in ESPN's first power rankings as rebounding woes follow them to Indiana

The Philadelphia 76ers open the second week of the season fifth in ESPN's first regular-season power rankings. That is one spot below where the panel had them before opening night, and the drop follows Monday's 106-93 home loss to Detroit, the first blemish on a 3-1 start.

The ranking still respects what the new-look Sixers have done. ESPN's opening note on the league singled out LeBron James starting his 24th season in Philadelphia with a win over the defending champion Knicks at Madison Square Garden, on the night New York got its rings. Fubo News adds that the Cleveland win was the largest comeback in franchise history, after Philadelphia trailed by 29, and that Tyrese Maxey is averaging 28.8 points a game.

The problem ESPN's Kris Rhim highlights is on the glass. The Sixers are pulling down 8.8 offensive rebounds a game, which ranks 29th in the league, and they sit 26th in total rebounds. Nick Nurse waved off the same issue in the preseason. Now he says the group knows it has to fix it, telling ESPN, "I think that our guys understand that we got to do a better job." Rhim ties the shortfall to a frontcourt hit hard by injuries. Fubo News lists Tacko Fall (quadriceps) as out for Wednesday, and Dominick Barlow (back) was ruled out on Oct. 19 for at least two weeks.

The Detroit loss showed what happens when the extra possessions dry up. Philadelphia scored 93 points after reaching at least 106 in each of its three wins.

What it means at Indiana

Wednesday's trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse (game page) starts a run of four games in six days: home against the Knicks on Friday, at Charlotte on Saturday and home against Chicago on Nov. 2. The Pacers are 2-2 and ranked 11th by ESPN. Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 21.8 points and 9.5 assists in his first four games back after 16 months out, but the roster around him is thin. Ivica Zubac has a sprained left ankle, Ben Sheppard tore his meniscus and T.J. McConnell is out with a hamstring injury. Zubac's status matters most for a Sixers team trying to hold its own on the boards. If he can't go, Philadelphia's rebounding problem may not cost it as much on Wednesday.

The market makes Philadelphia a clear road favorite. On Novig, one of 12 venues on this site's board, the Sixers are favored at -239 on the moneyline, with Indiana at +233. The sportsbooks' hold on that market ranges from 3.5% to 5.1%. The spread board doesn't fully agree. Novig has Philadelphia -7.5 at +102, while the best Sixers price anywhere is FanDuel's -6.5 at -120, a full point less to cover. On the Indiana side, Novig's +7.5 sits at -106 and DraftKings has the same number at -105. The total is 233.5 on Novig at -104 for the over and -100 for the under. DraftKings has the best under price at 234.5, -108.

That total assumes a fast game, and Haliburton's pace makes one likely. For the Sixers, the number to watch is the rebounding margin, which ESPN has already flagged as the main thing standing between this team and a spot higher in the rankings.