The Sixers are stealing their way to wins | Off the Dribble

After routing Oklahoma City on Monday, the 76ers will get to an interesting part of the schedule. Of their final 11 games, just four are against teams with winning records. The next three are in that category: two home games against Atlanta (34-28) and Sunday’s matchup at San Antonio (31-29).

A major reason for the Sixers’ 40-21 record has been their defense. Entering Tuesday, they were second in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing 107.2 points per 100 possessions.

While there is a lot more to defense than steals, the Sixers are among the best in the league when it comes to picking a team’s pocket.

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— Marc Narducci (offthedribble@inquirer.com)

The Sixers recorded an NBA season-high 22 steals in Monday’s 121-90 romp over Oklahoma City. While it’s easy to say that they accomplished this against arguably the worst team in the league, it still takes a lot to record that many steals.

The 22 steals are just two off the team record of 24 set on Nov. 11, 1978 in a 135-112 home win against the Detroit Pistons.

The Sixers set a team record for steals in a season with 862 in 1985-86, an average of 10.5 per game. Entering Tuesday, the Sixers were second in the NBA in steals, averaging 9.1. Memphis was the leader at 9.4.

Ben Simmons entered Tuesday seventh in the NBA in steals, averaging 1.63. Matisse Thybulle is 12th, averaging 1.56 steals, but Thybulle is averaging only 20.1 minutes. Thybulle leads the NBA in steals per 100 possessions (3.8).

» READ MORE: Sixers coach Doc Rivers preaches inclusion, open-mindedness

Going along with steals are deflections, and Simmons is third in the league with 3.7 deflections per game and Thybulle is ninth (3.1) among players who have played at least 20 games. Thybulle leads the NBA with 5.6 deflections per 36 minutes.

Don’t be surprised if the Sixers use a little more zone in the postseason, especially with Simmons and Thybulle both on the court.

“The best zone is when we have Matisse and Ben on the floor together,” coach Doc Rivers said. That’s because both are long and have great anticipation. They deflect a lot of passes, which leads to steals.”

The Sixers have three other players averaging at least one steal per game: Danny Green (1.3), Tobias Harris (1.0) and Joel Embiid (1.0).

Keith Pompey offers his best/worst from Monday’s win over Oklahoma City. The worst performance was by a player who had a 0-to-5 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Pompey writes that the Sixers’ path to the Eastern Conference title won’t come down to having the easiest schedule.

Forget about the MVP. The Sixers need a fully healthy Joel Embiid for the postseason even if it means that he misses games against outmanned teams.

Dwight Howard said he feels he is being “targeted” by referees for technical fouls.

Our weekly Inquirer NBA power rankings have Phoenix regaining the top spot. The Sixers dropped, but remained in the Top 10.

Over the next two games, the Sixers will be facing one of the more underrated players in the NBA, Hawks center Clint Capela.

The 6-foot-10 Capela, who will turn 27 on May 18, is averaging 15.5 points, an NBA-leading 14.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots in just 30.5 minutes per game. He also is leading the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (4.8). Capela is third in the NBA with 145 dunks.

» READ MORE: The Sixers are suddenly staring at a worst-case scenario. To avoid it, they must play, and win. | David Murphy

Capela improved through sheer hard work. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, he was a first-round pick of Houston in 2014, the 25th overall selection. Capela spent much of his first season in the G League, appearing in just 12 games for the Rockets, for whom he averaged 2.7 points.

By his third season, he averaged 12.7 points and 8.3 rebounds. In each of the four seasons after that, he has averaged a double-double.

He’s having a season that has put him in the company of some of the greats in Atlanta Hawks history. Here are two of the categories, courtesy of the Hawks’ game notes.

Top single-season Hawks offensive rebounders

1. Kevin Willis, 1991-92, 5.2

2. Clint Capela, 2020-21, 4.8

3. Moses Malone, 1988-89, 4.8

4. John Drew, 1974-75, 4.6

5. Moses Malone, 1989-90, 4.5

Top Hawks rebounds per game

1. Kevin Willis, 1991-92, 15.5

2. Bill Bridges, 1970-71, 15.0

3. Clint Capela, 2020-21, 14.7

4. Bill Bridges, 1969-70, 14.4

5. Bill Bridges, 1968-69, 14.2

One postscript on Bill Bridges: He was a three-time All-Star with the St. Louis-Atlanta Hawks, but he spent some times with the Sixers. averaging 13.3 points and 13.3 rebounds in 74 games over parts of two seasons.

Bridges was on the infamous 1972-73 Sixers team that went 9-73, but he played only the first 10 games before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers with Mel Counts for Leroy Ellis and John Q. Trapp. Not surprisingly, the Sixers lost all 10 games that Bridges played that season.

Bridges finished his career as a reserve for the 1974-75 NBA-champion Golden State Warriors.

Wednesday: Atlanta Hawks at Sixers, 7 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Friday: Atlanta Hawks at Sixers, 7 p.m. Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Sunday: Sixers at San Antonio Spurs, 8 p.m., AT&T Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Monday: Sixers at Chicago Bulls, 9 p.m., United Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Next Wednesday: Sixers at Houston Rockets, 8 p.m., Toyota Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Question: WILL BEN ever shoot a JUMPER … He’s wide open most times? — Brig Pryor from Facebook

Answer: Thanks for the question, Brig. Simmons once in a while shoots a jumper. Each year, there seems to be optimism that Simmons will start shooting jumpers, but there has been little evidence to suggest this will happen with any regularity.

According to basketball-reference.com, Simmons has attempted 509 field goals this year and only 35 are from 10-16 feet and just 10 from three-point range. Most of those 10-footers are jump hooks. He just isn’t comfortable with his jumper at this point.

Simmons helps in so many areas, but he won’t be a complete player until he adds the jumper to his arsenal and it’s doubtful we will see it in the playoffs.

Send questions by email to mnarducci@inquirer.com or @sjnard on Twitter.