Four games into this young season the Philadelphia 76ers stand at a benign 2-2.  So far there have been little surprises.  They have defeated who you would expect (New York, Milwaukee), and have been thoroughly handled by who you would expect (Orlando, Boston).  Despite their predictable start, the team has a slightly different look and feel.  Here are some early season observations:

Perimeter Defense: The Sixers perimeter D has more holes than a hobo’s sock.  On opening night they surrendered 16 threes to Orlando.  Against Boston, they allowed Rasheed Wallace to bury 6 threes in a reserve roll; one away from his career high.  In their two losses, opponents have hit 30 threes while shooting 63% from beyond the arc.  It truly is a challenge to conceive of numbers so feeble, but it isn’t as challenging to diagram a source.  Pick and rolls and dribble penetration have forced the defense to collapse, creating open looks.  Poor close outs have created subsequent penetration and open looks.   In this case the word subsequent denotes a cycle.  Unfortunately, this cycle will bury the Sixers if they do not deal with it in the near future.

The Princeton Offense: Despite their defensive struggles, the team has not been devoid of excitement, provided most notably by Coach Eddie Jordan’s implementation of the Princeton Offense.  This offense stresses constant motion, and encourages all 5 players to look for their shot.  With the unproven Louis Williams manning the point, and Andre Iguodala playing out of position at the 2, the Princeton Offense has allowed the Sixers to compensate for these deficiencies, stressing team play and a series of two and three man games in lieu of traditional isolations and catch and shoot scenarios.  With the burden of running the point in a traditional system removed, Williams has thrived.  He currently averages 17 points per game on 56% shooting.  Iguodala also appears invigorated.  He is tallying career highs in field goal percentage, assists, and points.  As a team the Sixers currently average 105 points per game, while shooting 51% from the field.

Overall: The season is still young, but it is not devoid of promise.  It appears that the starters can play with almost anyone in the league.  If the young bench can continue to develop and mesh, this team could be in for an interesting Spring.  As of now they still appear to be a .500 team, although, thankfully, they are slightly more watchable than the Sixers of the previous few seasons.