The Philadelphia 76ers currently sit in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 5-1 win-loss record and have had a splashy start to the 2025-2026 season. Even at this early stage of the campaign, many fans and pundits have noted the much improved play of the team as a collective – a stark contrast to the kind of year they had last season.
Spearheading Philly’s play to start the season is the excellent play of their electric backcourt. Tyrese Maxey, already an All-Star guard, looks to make another leap in his young career. VJ Edgecombe clearly looked like the best rookie in his draft class – and it’s not even close. Quentin Grimes, who had a pretty long layoff in the front office this offseason, has played so well that he’s now the early frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year.
The 76ers currently have the second-best offensive rating in the league, which has been enough to thwart their 19th-ranked defense to date. This team makes all its identity out of a high-octane offense. You might be surprised to learn that they don’t exactly play at a breakneck pace, ranking only 20th in that department.
Sooner or later the 76ers will want to to play faster, although that could be detrimental to someone like, say, Joel Embiid.
Joel Embiid may not be able to keep up the pace if the 76ers want to play faster
Right now, the 76ers’ pace actually makes sense. It’s a controlled one and provides the best balance to facilitate their run-heavy offense and the individual brilliance of their stars, including Embiid, who has been great thus far despite his minutes limitation.
But once Edgecombe develops and Jared McCain returns, the 76ers could be even deadlier if they push the pace much further. The caveat, of course, is that it will force Embiid to get up and down the court more often — a possible scenario that shouldn’t be taken lightly when talking about the former Most Valuable Player, who is prone to injuries and is already on the wrong side of 30.
That makes it all the more important that Embiid reconfigure his game to allow for more play on his part. His scoring ability will always be there – that was quite clear. But he will need to take another step back in terms of scoring to maximize his efficiency and extend his longevity, while ensuring he gets the most out of his ammunition.
Still, the risks of playing faster for Embiid are something the 76ers will have to consider moving forward. Fortunately, the technical staff is doing much better this time when it comes to managing the burden of Joel Embiid this season while not depriving themselves of the opportunity to win every night.
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