The Philadelphia 76ers continued their strong start to the 2026-27 NBA season with a 126-107 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. With the win, the Sixers moved to 7-1 on the season, which represents the best record in the Eastern Conference and is tied for the best record in the league.
It was a solid showing for the Sixers , who will look to continue their winning ways when they travel to Detroit to face the Pistons on Wednesday night. Before moving forward to that game, though, here's a look at one positive and and negative from Philly's win over Chicago.
Heading into the season, there were some concerns that there wouldn't be enough shots to go around for all of the members of Philadelphia's star-studded starting five. "There's only one ball," was a common line used by detractors to explain why it might be hard for all of the talent on the team to coexist.
And it's true, there is only one ball, but so far, the Sixers have done an excellent job of sharing that ball and making sure that everybody eats , especially against Chicago on Monday night.
The Sixers starters turned in their most well-balanced performance of the season against the Bulls. All five starters for Philly scored at least 15 points in the game and all five guys were right in the same range in terms of field goal attempts. Look at this distribution:
Tyrese Maxey: 26 points, 15 shots
Jaylen Brown: 25 points, 15 shots
LeBron James: 15 points, 13 shots
VJ Edgecombe: 21 points, 12 shots
Joel Embiid: 15 points, 11 shots
That's a pretty ideal shot distribution among the starting five, as that type of distribution prevents any one player from having to do too much heavy lifting on the offensive end. It also helps to keep everyone feeling involved and in rhythm.
It's also indicative of some good ball movement, and indeed, the Sixers recorded 36 assists on 48 made field goals in the game. That means that 75 percent of the team's baskets in the game were assisted, which is an impressive number.
It's not always going to look as balanced as it did against the Bulls, but that was an excellent example of how all of Philadelphia's stars can be productive and impactful in the same game.
The 76ers have been able to get off to a very strong start to the season despite their lack of reliable frontcourt depth , but they're ultimately going to have to figure something out in that regard.
Adem Bona continues to be a net negative for Philadelphia when he's on the floor, and he's still the only real center on the roster behind Embiid. Bona had five fouls and two turnovers in 14 minutes against Chicago, and he missed three of his four attempts from the floor.
The Sixers were outscored by eight points when Bona was on the floor against Chicago, which has become a trend, so coach Nick Nurse has relied heavily on small-ball lineups when he doesn't want to turn to Bona.
Again, this has worked early in the season, but doesn't necessarily feel sustainable. Dominick Barlow's return from a neck injury can't come soon enough for Philadelphia.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/76ers/onsi as One Clear Positive and Negative for 76ers on Monday Night vs. Bulls .
