The Philadelphia 76ers are walking straight into a math trap. On paper, adding Jaylen Brown to a group featuring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and LeBron James looks like a dream. In reality, the roster is so crowded with ball-dominant stars that a total collapse feels likely.
I have seen this movie before. It is a disaster waiting to happen, much like the 2018 Boston Celtics. Hardwood Houdini notes that the Celtics thought they were a sure thing back then. They believed they could win after adding stars like Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. As the source puts it, “The Celtics just came within a game of the NBA Finals and are going to get Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back? What could go wrong?” Everything went wrong.
A math problem with no solution
The numbers for this Philly roster simply do not add up. You cannot have more than 100% of the ball in play. Yet, if you look at last season, the usage rates for these four players alone are staggering. According to Hardwood Houdini, the individual usage rates were:
- Jaylen Brown: 36.2
- Joel Embiid: 33.5
- Tyrese Maxey: 29.4
- LeBron James: 27.2
That total reaches 126.3. That is a massive overshoot. When you add VJ Edgecombe at a 20.1 usage rate, the math gets even worse. You cannot find enough possessions to keep everyone happy.
The danger of too many stars
The problem isn’t a lack of talent. It is the lack of a “connector” role. We saw this in Boston. Jaylen Brown struggled because the team wanted him to play a role he could not handle. He ended up on the bench until Marcus Smart got hurt late in the season. The talent was there, but the fit was a wreck.
The Sixers are facing that same issue now. Embiid, Maxey, and LeBron are all players who need the ball to be effective. They are not role players. They are used to being the center of the offense. If they cannot play off the ball, the whole system breaks. The 76ers have all the pieces for a special team, but they might just end up with a very expensive trainwreck.
