5 Things the Philadelphia 76ers Must Achieve During 2015
The Philadelphia 76ers are well into their season but still have somewhat of a clean slate when it comes 2015 and what they can achieve.
Not much went right in terms of winning during 2014. Philadelphia had a 14-68 record when you combine its wins and losses during the last two seasons from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. The Sixers found themselves in the midst of a 26-game losing streak during that stretch and failed to land Andrew Wiggins in the NBA draft—the man who most fans and analysts alike predicted the Philly would end up with.
Still though, the full emergence of Michael Carter-Williams, a healthy Nerlens Noel and the hopeful nature of head coach Brett Brown laid a solid foundation. Slowly building on top of it will surely take time, but there's no doubt the right pieces are in place.
A new year means new goals. Here's a look at what the Sixers must achieve during 2015.
Tony Wroten Must Find His Offensive Identity
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Tony Wroten has been fantastic during the 2014-15 season. He's the Sixers' leading scorer at 17.4 points per game and is adding 5.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds on top of it. The bottom line is that he has accomplished much more than people expected, and he is doing it at 21 years old.
The only problem is that there's still a question as to who he is on the offensive end of the floor.
Wroten thrived as he began the season as a starter, while Carter-Williams was recovering from a shoulder injury. There were a number of times where he would force plays, but he still managed to make a big statement by producing while giving his all.
When Carter-Williams returned to the lineup, certain parts of Wroten's game began to look out of place.
The biggest example is in his shooting: 4.1 of his points come from the free-throw line since he does such a good job of attacking the hoop. The problem is that he tends to go away from being aggressive and settles for perimeter shots instead.
According to NBA.com, 9.2 of Wroten's shots have come from 10 feet or in. He's done well by making 50.2 percent of them, as opposed to sinking less than 30 percent of the 5.1 shots he takes outside of 10 feet.
It's clear that he simply doesn't understand his role.
Wroten must stick to being a slasher and attacking the hoop. Some players have to supplement their inside scoring with a perimeter game in order to keep the defender off balance. Wroten doesn't need to do this because he's practically impossible to guard off the dribble. He has to focus on getting into the paint on nearly every possession in order to maximize his talent.
Solidifying his offensive identity will be important for Philadelphia's future since he's such an important piece.
Joel Embiid Needs to Get as Healthy as Nerlens Noel
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Joel Embiid missed the last part of his season at the University of Kansas with a stress fracture in his lower back. The injury became a focal point leading up to the draft, as teams wanted to make sure it wasn't a red flag going forward.
It looked as though he was crushing any concerns after a number of fantastic workouts, but he ended up suffering a stress fracture in his right foot's navicular bone during one of his last sessions. His draft stock took a slight hit, yet the Sixers decided to take a shot and select him anyway with the No. 3 pick.
Philadelphia will need his injury to heal as successfully as Noel's has.
Noel was drafted at No. 6 in the 2013 draft, and the Sixers decided to sit him out for the entire season while he recovered from a torn left ACL. He was given the green light to play before the year ended, but Philly felt like rest and rehab were in his and the organization's best interest.
It turned out to be a brilliant move as Noel has played in 30 of a possible 33 games. K.J. McDaniels and Henry Sims are the only Sixers who have played in more games than Noel.
That's pretty good for a guy who was plagued by injury concerns.
Philadelphia needs to take the same approach with Embiid. Letting the big man rehab for the rest of the year is the best thing for both parties. He needs to have a couple of good games during summer league basketball and then be ready to go by the start of the 2015-16 season.
The Sixers will be a force on the block if Embiid and Noel are both healthy.
Michael Carter-Williams Needs to Raise His Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
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This is a view of the NBA's top five players when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio:
| Player | Assist-to-Turnover Ratio | Assists Per Game | Turnovers Per Game |
| Chris Paul | 4.55 | 9.5 | 2.1 |
| J.J. Barea | 4.26 | 3.3 | 0.8 |
| Devin Harris | 3.59 | 3.6 | 1.0 |
| Ty Lawson | 3.45 | 10.2 | 3.0 |
| Andre Miller | 3.40 | 3.0 | 0.9 |
Now, here's a look at the NBA's No. 62-ranked player in assist-to-turnover ratio:
| Player | Assist-to-Turnover Ratio | Assists Per Game | Turnovers Per Game |
| Michael Carter-Williams | 1.62 | 7.5 | 4.5 |
There are a few guys in the top five who aren't everyday players. Barea and Miller don't play as much as the other three, and Harris isn't on the floor as long as Paul and Lawson are. Still, though, the last two are respectively the No. 4 and No. 2-ranked players in assists per game. They play a lot of minutes, yet their productivity is efficient.
It's the complete opposite with Carter-Williams.
He plays just as much as Paul and Lawson but turns the ball over at a significantly higher rate. If his assist-to-turnover rate matched Paul's, then he would be averaging 7.5 assists and only 1.64 turnovers.
Cutting his turnovers by nearly three per game would take three possessions away from the other team. Those are the kinds of things that add up and potentially change the outcome of a contest.
Carter-Williams must focus on decision-making in the new year.
A Top-3 2015 Draft Pick
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Trading away Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young over the course of last year and the offseason was difficult for the Sixers. Beginning the 2014-15 season with a 0-17 record was bad. Tying the NBA's longest losing streak at 26 straight games was even worse.
All of it will be for nothing if Philadelphia doesn't get a top-three pick in the 2015 draft, though.
Tank-a-palooza has been a wild ride. Last season was a peculiar situation to endure, but a potentially fantastic draft class awaited whoever ended at the bottom of the standings. The Sixers didn't walk away with their prized possession in Andrew Wiggins but were still able to select Joel Embiid and Dario Saric in the lottery.
If Year 1 was brutal, then this season has been painstakingly awful.
Too much losing is taking place, and it's becoming hard to continue to believe that a bad record is in Philadelphia's best interest. It will be even harder if the Sixers don't get a top selection in the draft.
The trouble comes from Philly's current situation. Right now, the New York Knicks have the league's worse team at 5-32, and only look to be getting worse as they ride a 12-game losing streak. The Minnesota Timberwolves are also hanging around the bottom with the same record as the Sixers at 5-28.
Philadelphia could end up being in a position where they are trying to lose, but fail to end the year at the bottom of the standings. It's very similar to how the Milwaukee Bucks lost more games than the Sixers last year, even the City of Brotherly Love turned into the City of Overly Tanking.
General manager Sam Hinkie has built the current roster out of draft picks. Striking gold with another one like Emmanuel Mudiay, Croatia's Mario Herzonja or the incredibly skilled Jahlil Okafor in 2015 will likely be necessary in order to push the franchise over the hump and solve what seems like an impossible puzzle.
Acquiring such a valuable commodity would clearly be much likelier with a pick in the top three.
A Winning Record Going into 2016
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Philadelphia ended 2014 with a 4-26 record. It was the worst in the NBA and left little question as to where the team was headed. The Sixers are at the bottom of the league and have nowhere to go but up.
And going up is exactly what they need to do.
Saying that Philadelphia needs to go into 2016 with a winning record is extreme. In fact, it wouldn't be crazy to call it far-fetched. Making such a drastic jump from this season to next will be difficult, but there isn't any reason why it can't happen.
Carter-Williams will be in his third season at the helm and won't have any more excuses. He's already a great passer, rebounder and defender. Add in a reliable jumper and better decision-making—which he needs to have next year—and he'll be the perfect guy to run the point.
Philadelphia will also have Noel and Embiid to protect the paint, along with an incredibly versatile K.J. McDaniels at the wing. Add in more experience and another top draft selection, and turning into the Eastern Conference's No. 6-ranked team begins to make more sense.
Going into 2016 with a winning record is about more than just having a good season. It's about getting back to playing competitive basketball again. Both the team and its fans have to believe that these past two seasons have been worth all of the defeat.
The first day of next year is less than 365 days away. Each 24-hour period of time will be crucial for the Sixers to turn into a team that ends games in victory more than defeat.
All statistics in this article are accurate as of games played through Jan. 6, and courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.
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