Last week sorta sucked, as the Sixers followed up an encouraging win over the Atlanta Hawks with a pair of stinkers against the Cavs (where they were destroyed on the perimeter) and the Grizzlies (where they were shredded on the glass).
But what has been overshadowed by those uncharacteristically bad defensive performances is that the offense has been brutal, and has been for quite some time. In fact, the Sixers had the third worst offense in the league for last week's games, which made their defensive miscues so damaging, since the offense left them no margin for error.
That should change in a big way this week, as James Harden is set to make his return tonight after missing a month with a tendon strain in his right foot. Yesterday I spoke a little bit about how Harden will impact the Sixers' defensive ceiling. In today's newsletter I will touch on how his presence changes the Sixers' offense.
- Overview of the Sixers' week.
- A look at the week ahead.
- Encouraging trends.
- Concerning trends.
- Thoughts on Harden's return.
- Required reading.
