What can the 2024-25 Sixers count on?

What Can the 2024-25 Sixers Count On? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The 2024-25 Sixers will begin training camp in the Bahamas on October 1.

As that date approaches, we dive into some key topics for the team in Nick Nurse’s second season as head coach.

First things first: What can the Sixers count on?

The Sixers are accustomed to inconsistent fortunes, Joel Embiid injuries, and major roster changes. Through it all, they’ve been a very good regular-season team since the 2017-18 campaign, going 347-208 overall (62.5 winning percentage).

Sometimes it still feels like the Sixers can’t count on much, especially in the playoffs. For this year, our pre-camp reading is that the following three areas should be relatively reliable.

Frequent scoring by the stars

Joel Embiid averaged more points than minutes per game last regular season. He scored 50 points on 13 of 19 shooting in the Sixers’ Game 3 win over the Knicks. In Game 5, Tyrese Maxey scored 46. Paul George is now part of a Sixers all-star trio.

Can the Sixers deal with the underperformance of their top players on outside shooting? George hasn’t made many free throws in recent years, and Maxey is still figuring out when to actively seek contact and when to focus solely on finishing on the inside. Embiid’s making of free throws, on the other hand, often helps ease slumps. He’s made 11.7 free throws per game over the past three seasons, and the Sixers ranked third as a team in free-throw percentage last year, according to Cleaning the Glass.

The Sixers should be able to call on the many offensive talents of their stars on most nights.

Safe decision making

While Nurse will encourage Maxey to play an even quicker, more aggressive style, the 23-year-old is a player who typically commits few turnovers. He committed more than three turnovers in just six games last regular season, and his 6.6 turnover percentage was the lowest among NBA point guards.

The Sixers have the NBA’s best turnover percentage outside of garbage time in 2023-24, and none of their offseason acquisitions should significantly hurt them in that regard.

Nurse also doesn’t tolerate a ton of reckless, possession-wasting plays from non-star players. If Andre Drummond throws overly ambitious backdoor passes or Eric Gordon has a strangely sloppy night, there’s a good chance Nurse will consider other options.

Role players with signature skills that have nothing to do with shooting

This one is much less specific and quantifiable. Let’s go back to the cold shooting scenario. Even if no Sixer has a great shooting game, it’s fair to assume Drummond will be an elite rebounder; Kyle Lowry will be exceptionally intelligent and competitive; Caleb Martin will be versatile on defense and find ways to slot in as a cutter, slasher and offensive rebounder.

The Sixers have always needed three-pointers near their stars — Buddy Hield’s appeal at the last trade deadline was clear — but the team’s current crop of role players appears reliable for much more than just jumpers.

In a broad sense, that quality could make the difference between an adequate performance in Embiid-less playoff minutes and a disastrously squandered lead. That’s the hope, anyway.