104.8 Points, One Ball: The 76ers' Four-Star Math Problem

The 76ers generated plenty of headlines over the past week — Taj Gibson signing elsewhere, another puzzling front-office ranking, Kevon Looney trade chatter, a trade-deadline-seller think piece, even a beloved public-address announcer coming out of retirement. None of it will matter as much as the question ESPN raised on Sept. 14: can four "super-users" share one basketball?

That is the story of Philadelphia's week, and really the story of its season. LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid all arrive at training camp accustomed to being the primary option. Last season they averaged a combined 104.8 points per game — LeBron 20.9 on 51.5% shooting in 60 games, Maxey 28.3 in 70 games, Brown 28.7 in 71 games, Embiid 26.9 in 38 games. Only one of them can initiate a possession at a time.

The optimistic read is that the shot-making is undeniable. Maxey shot 36.7% from three on 38 minutes a night; Brown averaged 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists alongside his scoring; LeBron posted 7.2 assists per game while barely cracking 20 points, evidence he can shift into a distribution role when asked. Brown's own commentary this offseason — and his summer workouts with Maxey and James — suggests he understands the adjustment.

The pessimistic read is arithmetic and availability. Embiid has played 38 games in a season before; LeBron is entering a year where 60 games and 33 minutes felt like the workload. Four high-usage stars means at least one of them spends real stretches as a spot-up shooter, and none of them have done that recently. Turnovers are another lever: Brown coughed it up 3.6 times per game and LeBron 3.0, and a team with this much shot creation has less margin for live-ball giveaways.

Then there's the supporting cast. Philadelphia went 45–37 last season with a minus-0.2 point differential, scored 115.9 and allowed 116.1. The Knicks, the team that ended New York's 53-year title drought and now sits atop the East hierarchy, went 54–29 with a plus-6.4 differential. The Sixers' offseason grade rests on the bet that a retooled bench — Yahoo's pre-camp review flagged the second unit as the biggest unanswered question — can survive the minutes when two or three stars sit.

The market offers a useful temperature check without pretending to be a forecast. Philadelphia's win total is posted at 50.5, with the under priced slightly shorter than the over, and its championship price sits at 850 — behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio at 260 apiece, but ahead of the defending-champion Knicks at 900. Translation: the industry sees a very good team with a crowded top and real questions underneath.

The schedule won't grant a grace period. Within roughly the first three weeks, Philadelphia sees Boston twice and the Knicks twice, including a home opener against New York.

The four-star math problem is solvable — LeBron's assist numbers and Maxey's growth as a leader this summer are the strongest evidence for it. But the solution has to look like sacrifice from at least one Hall-of-Fame-caliber scorer on a nightly basis, and it has to survive an 82-game season with two members of the core carrying genuine durability questions. That is the season. Everything else this week was noise.