Efficient Offense Study

I was reading this article today by John Schuhmann which broke down the characteristics of 5 of the top offenses in the league and what they do that is successful. Throughout it, I was realizing what ails the Sixers and it's interesting to see what he says at the end about them. We have all heard how the Sixers are the best fastbreak team in the league and also that they score a lot in the paint. Why hasn't this translated to more success? How can you be tops in the league in a certain offensive stat but still 3 games below .500?

He offers that two of the largest contributors to an efficient offense are ability to get to the free throw line as well as 3-pointers attempted. The first makes sense because it gives you easier shots with the clock stopped, all while racking up fouls on the opponent. The Sixers aren't as bad as one would think in getting to the line (13th - keep in mind there are 30 NBA teams), however, they are 27th in terms of free-throw percentage, which obviously means they are not taking proper advantage of their trips to the line.

Second, we all know the Sixers are not a 3-point shooting team, despite their recent efforts to the contrary, but how poorly can that hurt them if they are tops in fastbreak and do well in the paint? Apparently more than one thinks. He noted that it is one of the strongest contributors to an efficient offense. Unfortunately the Sixers rank 29th in 3-pointers attempted. Also, it's not like they are missing out on much because they are also 29th in percentage made. Perhaps this is why DiLeo is imploring them to take more three's and challenging them to make at least five per game. My guess is that he sees the positive in this as being the fact that the more you make, the more the entire floor begins to open up and you keep defenses honest. There is also that part about scoring an extra point. True, the Sixers need consistency from outside in order to threaten anyone but taking more when they are available is a good start.

Finally, one clear detractor from offensive efficiency is turnovers. Nothing kills your point-per-possession stat like giving the ball away. I've noted before how the Sixers turn the ball over too much, therefore giving away easy points in transition and allowing the other team to have more possessions throughout the course of the game. I would not say that they have cut down their number overall as they still have 15.7 per game (26th in the league) but at least they are forcing close to as many (15.5, 6th in the league) and masking that problem somewhat.

The main idea here is that the Sixers have a nice strength with their athletic ability and fastbreak scoring, but they are failing in many other key areas on offense that have an equal to greater impact throughout the course of the game. Thus the tales of a 17-20 team...