Let's Get it Back to the Flyers and Sixers, who are a Combined 7-1 in December
Let’s take an Eagles break on Tuesday morning to talk about the Flyers and Sixers, who are a combined 7-1 December.
It’s four in a row for the Flyers, who took out the Penguins in a shootout and overtime in a home-and-home series to begin the month. Then they went out to Arizona and thumped the Coyotes 4-1 and followed that up with a Saturday thrashing of the Avalanche, 5-2. The Penguins are pretty average this year, but the Yotes are above .500 and play well at home. The Avs lead the Central and have the fourth-most points in the NHL. Philly is third in the Metropolitan.
Then there’s the Sixers, who are 15-7 overall after hammering the Wizards on Monday night. They’re on a three-game win streak and have won 5 of 7, dropping a pair to the Pelican and Celtics with Joel Embiid unavailable. Nick Nurse’s team is 4th in the East, but there’s only 1.5 games separating Boston, Orlando, Milwaukee, and Philly at the top.
It’s a pleasant surprise, because nobody really knew what either team was going to be this season. The Flyers are certainly in a rebuilding year, but look to be ahead of schedule.
Some bulletpoints there:
- They’re getting great goaltending from Carter Hart, who has a career-high .919 save percentage at this moment.
- Travis Konecny already has 16 goals, 7 assists, and 23 points and is on pace to eclipse his career-highs in all three of those categories.
- Sean Couturier is healthy and playing 20 minutes a night. There’s a reason he won the Selke.
- The penalty kill is wonderful and they’re tied with St. Louis for the league lead with 7 short-handed goals.
- The younger players are outperforming expectations. Bobby Brink? 13 points. Tyson Foerster? Showing a well-rounded game.
- Guys like Sean Walker and Nick Seeler, who were fringe NHL defensemen before this year, have blossomed into a good second pair.
- Travis Sanheim now has the freedom to play with a more offensive mindset and it’s paid dividends (17 assists so far).
- Torts has these guys playing hard, grinding, blocking shots in November and December.
We can have sweeping, macro-level conversations about whether or not the Flyers are doing “too much winning.” There seems to be a split in the fan base, with some saying they’re not fully committed to the tank and others thinking they’re a Cup contender. It’s hard to find a pragmatic middle, but similar to the Process-era Sixers, there’s plenty to watch at this particular moment, with an eye toward the future.
As for the Sixers:
- They’re deep. They legitimately have a dozen guys who can give you meaningful minutes on any given night.
- Joel Embiid is once again in the MVP conversation, and his per-36 numbers are right where they were last year, with a slight dip in free-throw attempts and slight increase in field goal tries.
- Tyrese Maxey has taken a significant step forward and is averaging career highs in pretty much every meaningful category.
- They’re playing a much more entertaining and fluid brand of basketball. There’s more movement on the offensive end and the defense is a good collective effort. They’re currently ninth in the league with a 112.1 DEFRTG, which in a normal NBA season is probably a top 8 number. Their OFFRTG is top 3.
- The Kelly Oubre situation didn’t result in some long term absence. He scored double-digit points in his first two games returning from injury.
- James Harden and Doc Rivers are no longer affiliated with the franchise.
Are the Sixers better than the Celtics and Bucks right now? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s been a really nice surprise to see how the Harden situation was resolved. Nick Nurse has breathed some new life into a stale franchise. Tyrese Maxey has charisma and moxie and Embiid is Embiid. They’ve got tons of guys on expiring contracts and wiggle room to work with in the offseason.
It’s easy to lose track of what the winter teams are doing early in their seasons, especially when the Eagles are good. You also have some lingering fatigue from two deep Phillies runs in a row, so we’re not paying super-close attention to what’s happening at the Wells Fargo Center.
But both the Flyers and Sixers are worth watching right now.