NBA

Philadelphia 76ers Stat Monkey Brief: Sixers/Wizards (3/3/13)

Brett Weisband  —  @weisband Mar 3rd, 2013
The Sixers will have to deal with the burgeoning backcourt crew of Wall and Beal, whose efficiency is getting on track.

Quick Recap

Led by Evan Turner's near triple-double, the Sixers snapped their seven-game losing streak and pulled an upset on the Golden State Warriors. Turner was unusually efficient, registering a 73.3 effective field goal percentage while also assisting on 30.9 percent of his teammates' buckets while he was on the floor. He was very good on mid-range jumpers, an area he usually struggles, making six of the 10 shots he took from there.

Jrue Holiday also threw up a very efficient line (62.5 eFG%), thanks to his willingness to let it fly from deep. Holiday knocked down three of his five attempts from three-point range. Despite making better than 36 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, Holiday takes less than three shots from there per game, and his 49.0 effective field goal percentage would see a boost if he would take a few more threes rather than the long twos Doug Collins is so fond of.

Despite having a -7 plus/minus, Royal Ivey's shooting performance was another boost for the Sixers. Pressed into a starting role when Nick Young was a late scratch, Ivey knocked down all six of his shots in just his second start since 2008.

Worth the Wait

It took a while, but the Wizards have finally been able to see what they have in their young backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. So far, the results have been encouraging enough to give Washington hope for the future.

While the Wizards are still at the bottom of the league in offensive efficiency (not far behind the Sixers, sadly), they improve greatly when Beal and Wall playing together. The team's offensive rating jumps to 102.7, still below league average but much better than the 98.5 offensive rating the team has on the season.

Wall's speed and playmaking ability (44.6 assist percentage) and Beal's shooting ability have proven a good combination. Beal especially has come on strong with Wall back. In November and December, Beal shot just 25.9 percent from three. Since the turn of the calendar, he's been unreal from long range. Since January 1, he's splashed in 48.5 percent of his three point attempts.