Early returns on LeBron James, Joel Embiid and the 76ers: How Philly is finding success

Lo and behold, we are a little over a week into the NBA regular season and the Philadelphia 76ers are 4-1.

The offensive talent in Philadelphia speaks for itself, and the impressive part has been how the 76ers have worked together to enhance each other. LeBron James and Joel Embiid very much feel like the pendulum for the Sixers' half-court offense. LeBron's playmaking and passing ability continues to pop when the Sixers opt to play through him. Embiid can be a hub at the top of the key, the elbow or the post. VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown are ready to go in transition, which opens up the Sixers' ability to flow.

The most important part is a) none of that has taken away from Tyrese Maxey's growth and b) a lot of it has made what he does even more impactful.

Let's break down their early success.

Maxey has become an offensive live wire and now he can be deployed in a lot of different ways; on-ball and transition are expected, but you're unsure of how and when he'll be used off-ball. Is it him as a screener with a matchup you don't want to switch that gives him a crease to fly off a different screen? Is it him as a screener for LeBron James in a matchup you don't want to switch, which gives him room to slip and attack in space? Is it wide pindowns or staggers which engage his speed in a completely different way? Maxey was always slippery to a large degree, but the moments where defenses can't fully lock in or load up enhances his elusive nature.

Offensively, there is going to be an ongoing battle all season to balance two things: the ability to use their talent as pressure points to force defenses to react vs. their willingness to get to ball movement and player movement to get defenses moving.

Make no mistake, this is not a "there is only one ball" comment, because it has already been proven there is enough room for all of the top-tier talent to get their looks. Especially when you consider the nights LeBron and Embiid may not be in the lineup and the fact the 76ers work to stagger their talent throughout lineups. The principles and sharing of the basketball have been there, it's just how much can they generate that in the half-court as opposed to when they are getting stops and flowing in transition.

For example, let's take a play from their last game against the Pacers:

Edgecombe points right away and you see the play is a stagger for Brown on the right side of the court with LeBron and Embiid as screeners. Brown backdoor cuts to get to the left side, Embiid releases to go set an on-ball screen on Edgecombe, and Maxey emerges from the left corner.

Maxey's involvement shifts this to a stack pick-and-roll action with Maxey working to set a backscreen on Embiid's defender. The issue is the speed; by the time they get to the pick-and-roll, there is 12 on the clock. The other issue is the set relies on Jay Huff, to a degree, showing on Edgecombe's drive. He's at the level, but retreats with Embiid rolling. Andrew Nembhard is able to stunt and get back to Maxey, and now it's a late-clock scenario.

On the flip side, you can see what happens when the Sixers' talent works together.

It's an Iverson cut for Maxey to the right wing into Embiid screening. Empty side pick-and-roll is designed to punish defenses or draw help from the baseline and the nail. As Kelly Oubre commits near the top of the key, that opens up the kick to Edgecombe. He drives the gap and kicks it to Brown. That forces a closeout, which leads to an extra pass to James for 3. Again, this possession ends with James wide open. Those are the notes they can hit.

You also have to balance that with the Sixers' ability to randomly push defenses into positions they do not want to be in.

Off a stop, Embiid brings it up in transition. Ryan Rollins works to stop the ball, which is fantastic until you realize that means Ryan Rollins is guarding Joel Embiid. A backdown draws help, the Sixers work to move the ball, but the Bucks are able to recover. The issue for Milwaukee is the ball again finds Embiid, who is still guarded by Rollins. Because the Bucks already showed help, Embiid knows they will again and gets it to Edgecombe quickly.

The Sixers again have to balance that with the fact that their talent can (and will) generate pressure. In the opener against the Knicks, there was a random possession where Brown was suddenly in the post backing down Jalen Brunson. Against the Pacers, you saw completely random flow generate from LeBron James and Joel Embiid in pick-and-roll or a LeBron post-up in space (with no help shown). How they navigate making defenses pay for those decisions will be key.

In Philly's home opener against Cleveland, the Cavs mostly decided to switch and live with the results early. The Sixers, working to try and move the ball and find openings weren't quite locked in on punishing those matchups. What does it look like if that changes?

Now keep in mind with all of the talent they have and the concepts they have to deal with, they are 4-1 despite, according to NBA.com, being 25th in offensive rating. The ceiling is left untouched as they work on the floor.

The odd part is their the biggest question mark coming into the season was their defense. They are No. 3 in defensive rating (103.3) to start the season.

That's right, the defense has held up to a surprising degree. There will be tests, there have been breakdowns, but the bones have mostly felt good.

The first person I think of when it comes to their defense is Embiid and most importantly this version of Embiid. At his peak, he was one of the more underrated defensive menaces in the league. He had the ability to execute multiple schemes, disguise which ones he was going to execute, defend multiple positions and protect the rim. The toll of injuries have worked to scale down a lot of that. It can be done, but now you watch and wonder when he will look to tap those buttons based on what's happening.

There's a shift to where you have to notice the little attempts. You can point to the lack of jumps at the rim, but also notice the effort to try to slide a lot more on defense. What was once a versatile force is now relying on nailing the positioning to, in essence, be in the way and contest. It's going to look, feel and sound loud when he does not hit those notes. It will feel subtle and faint when he does it right. Ultimately, the 76ers will need him to consistently hit these notes and elevate whenpossible. The crucial point for the Sixers is being able to navigate on the nights when it is not.

They have been unafraid to switch Maxey and Edgecombe onto different matchups. Those early attempts are good reps and will count down the line when teams (may) specifically hunt those two out. The encouraging sign is not just the willingness but the rotations behind that initial attempt.

James Harden screens for Evan Mobley here and Maxey switches. Notice Embiid, who sees Mobley rolling to the post to attack the mismatch and rotates to kick Maxey out of the matchup. With LeBron guarding a big (Jarrett Allen), he is also low, so when Embiid goes to help he helps the helper. The Sixers force a turnover and that allows them to run on the other end.

Part of the strength of the Sixers' defense comes from being able to lean on the minds of James and Embiid on that end of the court. A key adjustment in their win vs. Cleveland was being able to put LeBron on a wing and Embiid on a "non-shooting" wing. As much as it's about switching matchups, it's a quiet way to try and disrupt or alter an offense's attack. If you want to put Embiid in action, this person has to screen. If that person screens, you are locking in LeBron James as a weakside defender able to communicate, help and rotate. He's quite literally always been elite in that role.

If the defense is (possibly) better than expected and the offense can be better, you can see the vision for how key it is that the Sixers got to 4-1 through this. It will be a journey for them, but the best-case scenario is they are able to figure things out and be in a high position standings-wise to potentially get the full payoff come playoff time.

If there is another thing I could add, it's the Sixers' ability to problem-solve on the fly that has stood out. Is it ideal to have to comeback this many times, this early in the season? No. Could it be a positive that a team trying to figure out their base is able to handle the highs and lows and still find a way to win? Yes. Because that's a massive part of the playoffs.

Questions will still abound, but the Sixers are determined to work through this adventure. Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope help balance lineups, only being asked to be themselves. There is a scenario where a lack of size could hurt, but that has forced the Sixers to workshop more small-ball lineups (the kind that tend to pay off in the spring).

It's a juggling act of coaching and talent, but few things have truly thrown the Sixers into a spiral. If they can continue to improve offensively, and continue to hold up defensively, they are setting themselves up for success. What's a good Philly cheesesteak without a little bit of a mess?