How the Sixers utilize elements of ‘pace and space’ as one of the NBA’s slowest teams

Joel Embiid held the ball well outside the three-point line with 17 seconds on the shot clock during Tuesday’s lopsided victory against the Sacramento Kings. The 76ers’ All-NBA center lofted a one-handed pass to Tobias Harris on the right side, who then found Matisse Thybulle — who had moved from the opposite short corner to open space under the basket — for the finish through contact.

That play demonstrates why the word “pace,” as the Sixers define it, is more nuanced than constantly gunning for fast-break opportunities or attempting a shot in seven seconds or less.

They were technically the fifth-slowest team entering Thursday in the NBA’s official pace category, which measures total possessions per game (97.9). They ranked 19th with 13.4 transition points per game. But coach Doc Rivers uses the term to describe their goal to get the ball across the halfcourt line quickly, providing the most possible time to generate the most efficient shot available created through spacing, ball and body movement, and decisive actions.

The Sixers are unlocking their ideal pace at an interesting time. It has yielded 121.3 points per 100 possessions on 53.3% shooting during their three-game winning streak, which both rank in the league’s top five during that span. Their 80-point outburst during Tuesday’s first half came against a Kings team that ranks in the NBA’s top six in pace and fast-break points while spearheaded by blazing point guard De’Aaron Fox. The Sixers will next play Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, who defined this era’s “pace and space” offense.

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And they are discovering this tempo without Tyrese Maxey, one of the league’s fastest players who is still nursing a fractured foot, and with James Harden, who is often criticized for his ball-dominant style but has totaled 43 assists in his last three games.

“We have Joel Embiid and James. We’re not going to win the Olympics,” Rivers said. “But we can play at a great pace, meaning body movement and cutting. And that helps everybody.”

Some Sixers players substitute other words — such as rhythm or flow or feel — for pace. And Thybulle said it’s an attribute “that shouldn’t have to be communicated” when team chemistry is solid.

“It’s a sign of a well-oiled machine,” Thybulle told The Inquirer. “It’s a team that knows when to speed it up and get the game moving fast, and it’s a team that knows how to take a game that’s moving fast and then slow it down and then get into what they need to do.”

This was a more challenging task for the Sixers earlier in the season. A glance to the sideline when the Sixers regained possession following a rebound or turnover would sometimes reveal Rivers waving his arm in a circular motion like a third-base coach, demanding that the ball handler push to the opposite end.

“I’m not saying that we’re a fast team,” Rivers said back then. “I’m just saying we have to move faster. It’s a big difference.”

The coach vocalized the goal to get the ball over the halfcourt line by the shot clock’s 20-second mark, saying that players needed to “keep training [their] eyes” to advance the ball. That hit hiccups while Harden was out for about a month with a foot injury, because Maxey went from receiving those passes to delivering them before his own injury.

Thybulle said he tries to be first down the floor to read the ball handler, with Rivers adding the athletic wing could get four layups per game “just by outrunning people” — like on his transition alley-oop finish from Harden against the Kings. Rivers also calls Shake Milton “a monster in the open court,” and he has remained aggressive even when Harden has called for the ball.

“It took us a while [for it to become second-nature],” Milton said. “… As soon as the [opponent] scores or we get a rebound, just look ahead. It doesn’t matter who it is. Try to put pressure on the defense, and good things happen for our offense. Either you get into the lane, or you get kick-out threes. Something good is happening.”

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A sound defense can typically be tied to opportunities to pick up the pace. After a rocky start on that end of the floor, the Sixers have held steady as one of the league’s most efficient defenses (fifth at 109.1 points allowed per 100 possessions entering Thursday). Against the Kings, a live-ball turnover led to a Harris alley-oop slam, while a Montrezl Harrell block landed in Harris’ grasp for a coast-to-coast dunk.

Then there are more subtle signs that the Sixers are running their desired pace once they start their offense, including swinging the ball and driving and running early double-drag screens (two consecutive ball screens set by trailers in transition). Reserve forward Georges Niang calls the overall flow putting defenders in “the blender,” a term former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder used during Niang’s time with that team.

“Get [defenders] in rotation,” Niang said, “and the ball starts moving and you get open shots.”

Without Harden and Maxey, though, the Sixers spent a few days making sure plays could swiftly shift from the first action to the second with Milton and De’Anthony Melton as the starting guards. They played through Embiid, who facilitated from the middle after drawing double teams in addition to his dominant, multi-level scoring. Teammates worked to sharpen the frequency and timing of their cuts, after Rivers identified six or seven possessions during a Nov. 10 loss in Atlanta when they went too late.

Even Embiid’s isolation plays can still yield weakside movement, Rivers said. He highlighted Melton’s final three-pointer on his career night against the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday, a scripted play out of a timeout that, as Embiid drew a crowd in the lane, Melton got free at the top for the wide-open shot.

“For us to be effective, we have to be great in that,” Rivers said. “Because [defenders are] coming. They’re not going to let Joel just stand on the nail all year and score. They’re just not. It’s a very difficult place to trap from, but we still have to be great when they do.”

In late October, Harden stressed that he and teammates needed to be more purposeful in their individual roles as shooters, screeners, and playmakers to “know what we’re trying to accomplish, possession-by-possession.” By Tuesday, he used a nearly identical phrase in describing his team’s growth and current performance, including his quest to set up easy shots.

“Get the ball up as fast as we can and just create opportunities before Joel gets down there,” Harden said. “And once he gets down there, then we all kind of all know what to do. Guys are doing a really good job of just moving their bodies, finding open spots, and then I’m just trying to hit them on-target.”

» READ MORE: If James Harden stays in this groove, Sixers could be a force

Maxey’s dynamic burst and shooting should add “another element” to the Sixers’ offense when he eventually returns, Embiid said. In the meantime, the Sixers will continue striving to establish that consistent pace.

Though they scored 133 points on 53.3% shooting in a wild overtime win over the Lakers, Rivers identified stagnant periods before their barrage of miscues at the end of regulation. And Tuesday’s third quarter, when the Kings slashed a 28-point deficit to 15 as the Sixers’ offense stuck, was “no fun for anyone,” Rivers said.

Yet the Sixers can now identify what it looks like when their version of pace has been unlocked.

“We’ve got to keep it up and stay with it,” Harris said. “But a night like [Tuesday] is extremely positive for the whole group. We’ve just got to build off that and continue to play that type of way.”