Sixers Stats: Lineups and Tidbits Galore

So I already broke my original promise to publish a “Sixers Stats” piece every week until the NBA returns, obviously due to the turmoil our country was (and still is) experiencing at that time. I’m sure you all understand.

All stats via Cleaning the Glass, Basketball Reference and NBA.com — feel free to suggest new categories and segments in the comments down below.

Outliers of this Odd Season

• Of all the Sixers’ lineups to play at least 100 possessions together, there is only one that has taken fewer than 30 percent of their shots from the mid range. The five-man unit is composed of Ben Simmons, Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris and Al Horford. This is also their best active lineup on the roster by point differential (with at least 100 possessions), registering a +14.2 net rating.
• The lineup of Ben Simmons, Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and Joel Embiid has played 121 possessions together, and despite being composed of five of the Sixers’ six best players, they rank at the very bottom of the league in three-point percentage at 14.8 percent. Not so coincidentally, they have put together a net rating of -23.7 points per 100 possessions.

The Products of the Process

• Amongst the plethora of things that plagued the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers was their terrible free throw shooting. They finished 28th in the league at 69.4 percent on the season, and only three players on their very large roster finished above the 50th percentile of free throw shooters relative to their position: Isaiah Caanan, Robert Covington and who else but Carl Landry. Good thing this team was actually helped by missing free throws in the clutch. The same cannot be said for the late ‘90s Jazz.
• Despite only entering the league in 2011, hero of the Process era Ish Smith has already played for 11 different franchises, only one short of the record that is held by Chucky Brown, Jim Jackson, Tony Massenburg and Joe Smith. Ish Smith has played for the Rockets, Grizzlies, Warriors, Magic, Bucks, Suns, Thunder, Sixers, Pelicans, Sixers again, Pistons and Wizards.
• The 2013-14 Sixers were not the worst of the Process era by record, but they do have the acrimonious distinction of having their best two-man lineup of the season register at a measly +4.0 points per 100 possessions. The two men responsible? Tony Wroten and Christian Ware. Too bad they only got to play 63 minutes together, whereas the dynamic duo of Justin Anderson and Thaddeus Young shared the court for just under 1,801 minutes that season, while getting outscored by 6.0 points per 100 possessions.

Nostalgic Numbers Corner

• There have been only 10 players in NBA history who were 6’6” or shorter and managed to grab over 13 rebounds per game, and two of them were Sixers — Charles Barkley in 1987, and Billy Cunningham in 1970.
• Not a hard stat to find, but Dolph Schayes is under appreciated historically. His 142.4 career Win Shares (WS) is by far the most ever accumulated for the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers franchise, with Julius Erving coming in a distant second at 106.2 WS. He was named to the All-Star team in 12 of his 15 seasons, the All-NBA First Team six times, and All-NBA Second Team six times. He was also considered a very efficient scorer for his era, finishing his career with 1,321.9 points added by True Shot attempts made above league average.

In Loving Memory of one Mr. Timothy John McConnell

• In his two matchups against the Sixers this season, T.J. recorded usage percentages of 31.2 and 30.6, his fifth and sixth highest marks of the season, respectively. Clearly, he was seeking vengeance on the team that decided to pay a backup center a guaranteed $96 million over four years rather than shelling out three and half mill per year for him. Excuse me while I go slam my head against the wall repeatedly.