The 76ers keep paying for shot creation while no one is paid to end the possession
A defensive possession ends with a rebound, and Philadelphia's summer bought shot creation instead.
The Philadelphia 76ers signed LeBron James and traded for Jaylen Brown. Yet per The Sixer Sense, they ranked 26th in defensive rebounding last season and dead last the year before.
Andre Drummond, a reliable rebounder, left for the Knicks, the reigning champions, on a one-year veteran's minimum. In May he fought the Knicks for Philadelphia. Now the cheapest fix on the market sits on their bench.
Last season, Joel Embiid and Paul George took 56% of the payroll and delivered 17% of the roster's production. The problem is structural: the money sits with stars, and no one is paid to carry the glass.
Yes, the team climbed to a WAGE Score of 53 last season, Going Rate, up from 19. But I don't like adding more creation to a roster that hands back second chances, because offense cannot close that leak.
It's early, and rebounding by committee can still appear.
Zoom out: last season was the 7th-highest payroll for the 13th-most wins. The new season asks that star money to buy the possession after the miss.