Three Things the Sixers Need to Improve to Reach Their Potential

The Sixers are 29-21 amid a west coast road trip through the trade deadline. They have a point differential of just 1.5 on the season. They've left themselves with little margin for error on most nights this season. They're good. They could be better.

With the deadline to make big in-season moves approaching on Thursday afternoon, here are the three things that stand between the Sixers, as they currently are, and their highest potential.

Defensive rebounding

The Sixers are 28th in the league in defensive rebounding rate, per Cleaning The Glass. Defensive rebounding isn't just about securing the stop. It's about limiting the quality of the second-shot offense.

When you don't come down with the defensive rebound, there are four or five offensive players looking to capitalize while the defensive players uninvolved in the rebound are breaking toward the other end of the floor. Players are out of position to defend a second effort, orchestrating good looks from three or shots at the rim.

It may not burn Philadelphia every time, but continually allowing the opposition to have extra bites at the apple is going to bite back eventually.

We're past the point of the current personnel figuring out the rebounding woes themselves. The problem Nick Nurse faces is that he can put together some bigger lineups, but it comes at the expense of shooting, spacing or just basic, consistent offensive skills.

If it's going to improve, the Sixers will have to look externally.

But it's not enough to just be big and bulky. The archetype we need to be talking about has good hands and a sense for when to pursue the block and when to hold position at the rim. He needs to have a sense for the angle at which the ball is ricocheting off the rim.

We're not talking about Mitchell Robinson here. That's too lofty of an expectation. We're talking about an athlete with decent hands and a good feel for the rim. Not someone who will get beat to the loose ball. Not someone who will bobble the ball for a strip or a turnover out of bounds.

Guard play behind Tyrese Maxey

This will read as 'the guards that are coming in to relieve Maxey'. It's meant to capture that and the minutes that Maxey is on the floor without Joel Embiid and Paul George.

Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain have see-sawed in the roles behind Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Grimes has never fallen all the way out of the rotation, while McCain has at times this season.

Grimes is shooting 34.4 percent on threes this season. That is a few ticks below the league average. His effective field percentage is just below the league average this season. He's shooting 28.2 percent on open (four-to-six feet of space) threes, per NBA.com.

Jared McCain was not setting the world on fire prior to the last couple of games. He's shooting 15-for-24 from three over the team's last five games, bringing his efficiency for the season up to 38.5 percent. But even with the recent heater from three, McCain has shot way below the league average on twos. His effective field goal and true shooting percentages are also well below average.

Judging by Nurse's decision-making with the rotations, he'll live with Grimes' helter-skelter perimeter shooting as long as he drives the ball hard to the rim and defends intensely on the perimeter. McCain has much less latitude. Nonetheless, this is what's happening to the Sixers' offense because those two have underwhelmed this season:

Fortunately for the Sixers, McCain made Trent pay for that decision.

The disrespect toward Grimes has been more rampant:

Landry Shamet helps off Quentin Grimes from strong-side corner | NBA.com

There are already two Knicks in Maxey's face. He's got nowhere to go against a triple team with Grimes one pass away because Landry Shamet doesn't feel the need to hug up on his man in the strong-side corner.

But it doesn't just hinder Maxey's ability to attack.

Knicks send two guys at Joel Embiid | NBA.com

This example is deceptive because it looks like Josh Hart isn't shading that far toward Embiid. But Hart's assignment is Trendon Watford. Miles McBride is actually the one assigned to Grimes. He drops all the way down to the block, completely abandoning Grimes to increase the pressure on Embiid.

This is more of the first exhibit, Shamet stepping away from a mutual help position to send a second body at Maxey with Grimes one pass away.

The Sixers are not a particularly frequent three-point-shooting bunch. But they are exactly average from beyond the arc. Given the amount of gravity Embiid and Maxey have with the ball in their hands, the team needs the guys who are on the court to shoot the ball to actually make shots.

It's OK if defenses don't want to respect them. But they have to punish that disrespect. Grimes and McCain haven't done that consistently this season.

It seems most likely that Philadelphia will ride with the guards they have behind Maxey and Edgecombe and hope that the three-point shooting regresses positively. That's not an unthinkable scenario, either. The Sixers have other needs and guard turnover on the roster might do as much harm to the team's continuity as it helps the shooting.

However, there should be a healthy degree of skepticism that either Grimes or McCain can stick in a playoff rotation beyond the first round. While Grimes is probably the favorite because of his defensive motor and explosive athleticism, he also does his own share of damage with helter-skelter decisions as a ball-handler and streaky shooting.

Dribble penetration

Perhaps the most time-tested theme of the Sixers' season is the struggle to stay in front of the ball on the perimeter leading to open threes. Statistically, they actually defend the three relatively well. But there is likely some luck involved in that.

When opponents light the Sixers on fire from three, it is usually rooted in failure to contain the ball. The Phoenix Suns are not a star-studded team. But they beat the Sixers by getting into the paint and kicking out to beat help rotations.

It can start with a wild closeout.

Dribble penetration leads to open three for Grayson Allen. pic.twitter.com/R5CcVmA2uO
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) February 4, 2026

Grimes' lack of discipline in closing out results in a drive, causing help rotations. It all leads to Grayson Allen getting a wide open three.

It also stems from bad positioning.

Dominick Barlow helps to stop dribble penetration, gives up open Booker 3 on wing. pic.twitter.com/vsHDWDp1NI
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) February 4, 2026

Kelly Oubre Jr. gives up the entire left-hand driving lane, and Royce O'Neale takes it. The rim pressure draws Dominick Barlow over from the weak side, leaving Devin Booker, of all people, open for a three.

Most concerning of all is that the open threes can domino from defenders who profile as being sturdy simply getting beat.

Justin Edwards fails to contain the ball, help rotation leads to an open corner 3 for Jordan Goodwin. pic.twitter.com/YtUb6xUOxn
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) February 4, 2026

Justin Edwards has not had a great second season. His inconsistent playing time is likely linked to his inability to stay in front of the ball as a rangy wing. Simply put, you have to beat your man to spots. You can't be heavy on your feet or unresistant to aggression from the ball-handler. Edwards gives up the baseline here, resulting in a box rotation. Maxey drops to tag Adem Bona's man in the paint, conceding an open corner three to Jordan Goodwin.

The reality is that no one move is going to fix this. Perhaps there are some schematic adjustments that could help, such as the Sixers being less aggressive in help defense. But this is largely about the guys tasked with defending the perimeter having their own shortcomings in doing so. The Sixers give up the drive way too easily, and it collapses the entire defense. It's their weakness, be it a product of scheme or personnel, and it is unlikely that one bulldog of a defender is walking through that door to save the day.