NBA

Philadelphia 76ers Stat Monkey Brief: Sixers/Magic (2/26/13)

All hail the return of Thaddeus Young! Brett Weisband looks at the efficient Young/Jrue Holiday duo.

Back in Action

After what felt like an eternity, Thaddeus Young is finally back on the court for the Sixers. While his return was shaky offensively, Young is key to the Sixers' offensive execution. He and Jrue Holiday are the Sixers' most efficient duo.

They're one of the few pairs the Sixers have that, when they're on floor together, actually outshoots and outscores opponents. Surprisingly, the Sixers take 4.1 more shots per 100 possessions with Holiday-Young on the floor together, rare for a team that plays at one of the slowest paces in the league. The Sixers likely aren't going to get any more efficient on offense until Andrew Bynum sets foot on the court, but having Thad back will make the inefficient Sixers a little more palatable to watch.

Fresh Start

After shipping sharpshooter J.J. Redick and others to Milwaukee, the Orlando Magic are officially barren of any players capable of contributing to a decent team. Perhaps the best asset they got back in the trade, aimed at getting even younger, is second-year swingman Tobias Harris.

Harris had seen his playing time dwindle to nearly nothing under Bucks' interim coach Jim Boylan. Still, his per-36 minutes numbers remained solid at 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds. In his Magic debut, he posted almost those same numbers (14 points, 6 rebounds) in just 25 minutes, with a 50.0 effective field goal percentage.

To keep getting those extended minutes, though, Harris will have to do something other than provide interior scoring. Namely, he'll have to up his rebounding rate. For the season, Harris has just a 9.7 total rebounding percentage, obviously subpar for a player that operates close to the hoop.