While watching the frustrating Philadelphia 76ers play on a regular basis, several things have become clear after just one week of games, and not just that they remain no closer to catching up to the Boston Celtics. The No. 4 seed in the East might be the best they can attain, since the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks look deeper, stronger, better. The 76ers lack the outside shooting from a year ago and cannot afford to be without point guard Ben Simmons and his triple-double proclivity for long. Simmons left a weekend game with a back injury and seems likely to miss a few contests, and that becomes an immediate problem creating offense.
Oh sure, the 76ers boast pseudo-rookie Markelle Fultz to handle the bulk of the point guard duties, but he is not Simmons, and similarly cannot shoot from the outside. He can pass and rebound and looks tantalizing doing so, but for whatever gains he supposedly made in outside shooting this summer, they have not shown up so far. Defenses embarrassingly ignore Fultz, and when he plays with Simmons, it is a definite problem for the actual shooters and star Joel Embiid down low. Fultz was among my sleepers for this season, and I guess my sole defense for his uninspired play would be that he remains raw and inexperienced. But I simply cannot make much of a case to invest in fantasy leagues.
The 76ers have Embiid playing at an MVP level and Simmons is fantastic, not only supplying the triple-double statistics in scoring, rebounding and assists but looking more active on defense, and we love the steals and blocks. I see no improvement in his ability to score from the outside or from the free throw line, however, so rostering Simmons does come with that considerable caveat that he is not, for fantasy purposes, as versatile as we would prefer. After these two players, all other 76ers are on the most dropped list at their positions, led by Fultz. I would keep JJ Redick around, for it seems likely he rejoins the starting lineup immediately and scores his 18 points per night and hits his many 3-pointers efficiently, while Robert Covington hits from the outside and provides steals, and Dario Saric should improve.
Keep an eye on the health progress of veterans Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala. The statistical projections might not like Chandler, out with a hamstring injury, but there is great opportunity for an impactful 30 minutes a night on this team because he can hit 3-pointers and defend multiple positions. Fultz and Redick cannot defend, well, anything. Nobody is saying it is easy to defend Embiid, but he is about all there is to defend, and the 76ers covet outside shooting with Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli elsewhere. Redick hit eight 3-pointers in Saturday's win over Orlando, skewing the team stats a bit so far. Chandler and Muscala will help for deeper leagues, and the latter boasts eligibility at center.
Four other thoughts
• With scoring way up so far, the Denver Nuggets are doing things a bit differently, and they head into Tuesday having not permitted any of their three opponents to score 100 points. One of those opponents was the Golden State Warriors. Center Nikola Jokic not only has produced fantastic numbers so far, but it is fun to watch him defend. He is the center of the team's offense and defense, and his improvement on pick-and-rolls has flummoxed defenses. Fantasy managers are not getting so much out of other Nuggets so far, as Jamal Murray has struggled (keep him rostered or trade for him!), Paul Millsap is not scoring (him too!) and Will Barton is soon to be the most dropped player in ESPN formats because he is out until December after groin surgery. Who steps up? Trey Lyles has range for a power forward, and last December and January he was a fixture on fantasy teams, averaging more than 14 points and six rebounds. Go get him now! I am!
• I got a good look at Orlando in a few games, and I can only repeat my fantasy love for center Nikola Vucevic, as he bombarded the 76ers for a monster triple-double on Saturday, with four 3-pointers, and then led the way in the surprise win in Boston on Monday. Evan Fournier should be rostered in more leagues as well, and he contributed 10 assists against the Celtics. Vucevic gets 12 assists in one game, Fournier hits double digits the next. DJ Augustin might lead the Magic in assists, but do not expect many. This team is obviously improved, and a big key will be whether second-year forward Jonathan Isaac can play consistently. He looked lost on Saturday at both ends of the court, and excellent in Boston with 18 points and 12 rebounds. If you invest in him, be patient. The Magic will be.
• One thing that has bothered me so far: Veteran players need the proverbial "day off" before one week of the season is completed? Fatigue has already set in? I understand Boston's Gordon Hayward, I suppose, since the Celtics are so deep and his injury was significant, but Minnesota's Jimmy Butler and Toronto's Kawhi Leonard as well? Yes, Leonard was hurt last season as well, but we are talking about the second or third game of the season. I hope this is not a trend that significant players "earn" regular rest on the second night of back-to-backs, like Philly's situation with Embiid a few seasons back.
• Field goal shooting watch: I did draft Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young in a league, even though I should know better, but I could not resist the temptation when so many others in that round lacked any reasonable upside. Young is shooting 45.5 percent from the field, though one game has skewed that a bit. If he keeps the number above 40 percent, I will be pleased, because I thought most projections on Young were too low on his scoring and assists. With John Collins out several weeks, Young has to score. So far, so good!