Welcome to the city of Deladelphia where we talk about the Delaware 87ers and the Philadelphia 76ers! Today, I wanted to look at some figures from both teams in their respective leagues and sort of see how they compare to each other (okay, that's a difficult task).
This post isn't going to be a major in depth look at the teams. My intention here is to compare basic and advanced stats for both teams. I'm looking to see if there are similarities in the way the teams rank and play.
The 87ers have the 9th best record in the D-League. If this were the NBA, this would be fantastic. However, the D-League only has 22 teams so the Sevens are somewhat above average. Their record almost seems to back that up as they are 12-9. Again, not a record that screams elite, but not bad either.
- Points per game: 8th
- Field goal shooting: 3rd
- 3-Point shooting: 9th
- Free throw shooting: 19th
- Rebounds: 6th
- Assists: 20th
- Steals: 21st
- Blocks: 21st
Now see…I just…so the Sevens on basic stats seem to not do well defensively. They are 8th in points per game and 3rd shooting from the field. Add in the fact that their point differential is just 2.2 and you can see they aim to score the ball more than their opponents but are involved in close games because they don't really defend. But, what about Advanced stats?
- True shooting: 7th
- Effective field goal percentage: 5th
- Offensive rating: 6th
- Defensive rating: 13th
- Net rating: 12th
- Assist percentage: 22nd
- Rebounding percentage: 3rd
Now, here we can see that I may have been right about the way they play. Yes, this is one of the best scoring teams in the league, and their defense is their weakness. Looking at the basic stats and advanced stats and you see the rebounding and assists hold up.
In the end, the stats seem to back up the idea of their middle of the league record. Let me add another idea of how their defense is not a strength. So, what about points off of turnovers? In this case, the idea of solid defense can lead to solid offense. However, the Sevens are ranked near the bottom (16th) in that area. Considering they don't steal as much as most of the league, it's no surprise they don't score off of those rare chances. Yes, turnovers come in other ways but steals tend to lead to fast break/easy shots. Speaking of fast break, the Sevens are 20th in fast break points.
Again, we know this team can score. Adding solid defense could simply add to their total while distancing themselves from the opponent. Again, the Sevens outscore teams by a narrow 2.2 points per game despite their strong offense.
Now, what about the Sixers?
The Sixers are 28th in the league of 30 teams. They have been playing much better recently but a record is a record. Overall, let's look at the basics:
- Points per game: 25th
- Field goal shooting: 27th
- 3-point shooting: 21st
- Free throw shooting: 20th
- Rebounds: 20th
- Assists: 11th
- Steals: 11th
- Blocks: 5th
Okay, now compared to the Sevens, the Sixers seem to fill in the gaps. While the Sevens rank low on assists, steals, and blocks, the Sixers are above average in these areas. Very interesting. While the Sevens are scoring machines, the Sixers don't really shoot well or score much. The rebounding is opposite as well. It seems these two teams need to have a talk on how to improve each other's weaknesses. Sixers' point differential is -6.0, so they average a somewhat close loss.
Alright, but what about the Advanced stats? Do they back up the basics?
- True shooting percentage: 24th
- Effective field goal shooting: 23rd
- Offensive rating: 30th
- Defensive rating: 14th
- Net rating: 29th
- Assists percentage: 5th
- Rebound percentage: 22nd
You know what's funny? The Sixers and Sevens both seem to be connected to steals and turnovers. See, the Sevens' defense doesn't help their offense as we already know. This team doesn't steal the ball and simply don't generate opportunities to score as well as they can.
The Sixers are the opposite. They are really solid defensively and generate extra possessions. Problem is, the Sixers turn the ball over a lot. They lead the league in that area. It would be interesting to see these teams face each other simply because while the Sixers turn the ball over, the Sevens don't steal. So, does any turnovers happen for the Sixers? Are the Sixers just that bad at taking care of the ball? We don't know.
On the flipside, the Sixers may be good at steals, but the Sevens do take care of the ball. They are 10th in their league in turnovers. I don't know, kid. It's really interesting.
But yeah, the Sixers are 14th in points off of turnovers. So, they are average in taking advantage of their defense. As for fast break points, the Sixers are only 21st. Now, it's very possible that the Sixers' poor offense options are why they don't have as many points. Again, they steal the ball. They have chances to start breaks more than other teams. But, as we know, they also turn the ball over. The Sixers may steal the ball 7.9 times, but they will give it up more than double that with 16.8 turnovers. As I said before, turnovers come from more than steals. But, steals are a top defensive action unlike an offensive foul or a shot clock violation.
Looking at both teams, if you watch both of them play, you really end up with a different style of play each time. The Sevens are going to run up the score board. The Sixers will attempt to stop teams from scoring. It's offense vs defense. The ultimate goal for both teams is to be good at both, of course.
That's it for this post. Next Deladelphia will probably go back to tradition format but I'm always looking to keep things fresh so we'll see. Thanks for stopping by the best sports city ever.
