Right now the numbers show that the Sixers are the best “clutch” team in the NBA.
What does that mean, “clutch?”
It’s a period of time defined as five minutes or less in a game, with the score being within five points.
After Tuesday night’s win, the Sixers are now 16-5 in clutch games, with a league-best .762 winning percentage. Nobody has a better track record of executing down the stretch and closing out opponents in tight games.
Case in point, here’s a sampling of some of the clutch numbers that the Sixers are posting as a team, with their league ranks in parentheses:
wins: 16 (tied 1st)
winning percentage: .762 (1st)
field goal percentage: 47.7 (6th)
plus/minus: 52 (4th)
offensive rating: 114.6 (8th)
defensive rating: 88.9 (1st)
net rating: 25.7 (2nd)
opponent field goal percentage: 32.9 (2nd)
Defensively they’ve been incredible in these late, fourth quarter scenarios. They clamp down and get stops. They swipe the ball and block shots.
And on the offensive side, they’re shooting at a top-six clip while getting buckets from Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid on these well-executed pick and roll and isolation possessions, as you saw against New York.
Individually, here are a couple of noteworthy figures:
Embiid has 80 total clutch points, which is 4th in the league.
Harris has 49 clutch points, good for 23rd overall.
Harris has a plus/minus of 69 in clutch time, which is tied for 1st in the NBA.
Among players who have taken at least 20 clutch time shots, Harris’ 59.3 field goal percentage is second only to Damian Lillard.
Harris hasn’t missed a single clutch time free throw. He’s 15-15 this year.
Embiid is shooting 83.8% from the line during clutch time. His 37 free throw attempts are second in the league, also behind Lillard.
Embiid leads the NBA with eight clutch time blocks.
Harris has a 76.2 individual defensive rating in this time period.
Embiid’s clutch usage is 39.5%, which is insane for a “center” in the modern day NBA.