Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers have seemingly righted the ship after a rocky start.
They sit at 16-12, currently in the midst of a four-game win streak, good for fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Much of the recent success can be attributed to the defense.
Embiid's defense is really what brought the 76ers back in the game pic.twitter.com/edTaCOcz3S
— Siddharth Ravindran (@JasonSidd) December 17, 2022
The 76ers allow the third-fewest points per game (108.1) and have the fourth-best defensive rating (109.6).
Embiid and offseason acquisitions De’Anthony Melton and PJ Tucker have spearheaded the resurgence with some help from Tobias Harris.
With defense leading the way, here are two questions the 76ers will need to answer the rest of the way.
Can Their Stars Stay Healthy?
Philadelphia has not been a model of health to begin the season.
James Harden has missed 14 games, Tyrese Maxey has missed 13 games, and Embiid has missed eight games.
All told, the 76ers’ “Big 3” has appeared in only six games together.
Which is a big deal considering how effective those three were when they shared the court last season.
Across 1031 possessions, lineups featuring Harden, Maxey, and Embiid were a +15.4 – good for the 99th percentile league-wide per Cleaning the Glass.
Add in Harris and that number jumped to +17.9.
While the numbers are down this season (+3.0 and +5.3, respectively), it is fair to say the 76ers are at their best when all three stars are healthy.
If they don’t have all three come playoff time, title contention feels unrealistic.
Will 76ers Ever Find a Backup Center?
There has always been one big question with the 76ers since Embiid arrived – who will back him up?
And year after year, starting with Embiid’s first playoff appearance in 2017-18, an answer was never found.
From Amir Johnson to Boban Marjanovic to Al Horford to Dwight Howard to Paul Reed, the 76ers have cycled through countless options.
None of which have ever stuck.
This year had more promise than years past.
Montrezl Harrell was brought in as an offensive spark off the bench.
And Paul Reed was entering his third NBA season coming off a promising playoff run.
Still time to go in this one, but the Sixers are minus-41 in their 30 non-Embiid minutes the last three games.
No James Harden really hurts you there, but man, that's not even close to competitive.
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) November 14, 2022
So far it has been more of the same, sadly.
- Harrell On/Embiid Off: +4.0 across 550 possessions
- Reed On/Embiid Off: -9.7 across 480 possessions
The 76ers have been respectable in the minutes with Harrell on the court but have been downright bad with Reed.
All told, the 76ers are getting outscored by 2.8 points per 100 possessions when Embiid is off the court.
Not quite as bad as in years past, but still a glaring weakness come playoff time.
NEXT: 2 Moves The 76ers Should Make At The Deadline