James is clearly pacing himself
Playing on a roster loaded with talent, James has seemingly been happy to become one of the best role players in the NBA.
Through his first seven games, James is averaging 15.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists a night. His scoring average, field-goal attempts per game (13.1) and free-throw attempts (4.4) are all on pace to be career-low marks. While James hasn’t necessarily made up for the dip in efficiency — his 45.7% shooting from the field would be his lowest since his rookie season — his willingness to take a back seat has helped Maxey in particular.
The speedy guard is averaging 28.0 points on a career-best 48.6% shooting.
“It was a long offseason for me,” Maxey said this month. “I worked on my passing. I worked on my isolation scoring and my late-game scoring. I wanted to be able to come back with a move that I could get to late in games, because I knew we were going to need it. I knew we would need it, and I knew that I would be ready to do it.”
Said Brown: “Max has been leading the way, 100%. He’s been here. This is his team.”
Everyone has sacrificed to some degree, including Embiid, who admitted he was struggling adapting to his new role as his shot attempts diminish.
“My mindset is really on whenever I have the ball, make plays,” Embiid said. “Make the game easy for all these guys. Making the right play over and over, setting screens, get Tyrese as open as possible, Bron, all these guys.”
How does this compare to previous James teams?
Typically, when James joins a new team, it takes a little while for things to come together.
The 2010-11 Miami Heat, for example, started only 6-4 in their first 10 games. The team was only 9-8 after 17 games, when James famously bumped into coach Erik Spoelstra during the team’s eighth loss.
The 2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers were worse, starting 5-5 when James returned home. The Cavs struggled until January, hovering around .500 until they embarked on a 12-game winning streak midseason.
The 2018-19 Los Angeles Lakers started the season 4-6 and eventually missed the playoffs after James sustained a groin injury late in the year. Much of that team was turned over the following offseason after the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis.
This year’s 76ers have a chance to go 9-1 if they win Friday. And history already bodes well for Philly, as the four previous James-led teams to start 7-1 all made the NBA Finals.
“It’s too early to be talking about the Finals and things of that nature on Nov. 4,” James said Wednesday night. “We got a good team. Guys vibe with one another, guys like each other, guys enjoy being around each other.”
