During their past five games, the Sixers rank second in the NBA in defensive efficiency at 104.2 points allowed per 100 possessions.
When asked before Sunday's game about the Chicago Bulls' emphasis on pushing the ball in transition, Nick Nurse's response was, "Jeez, do they run?! They're crazy." Yet by the end of that 76ers' victory, All-Star wing Paul George was pleased with how his team "kind of just flew around" while holding the normally high-powered Bulls to 100 points.
That effort epitomized how defense has keyed the Sixers' mini-surge, winning four of their last five entering Friday's home game against the Indiana Pacers. It's another area where increased health has yielded increased cohesion and, now, a schematic "menu" that Nurse said is "getting bigger all the time."
"That's kind of who we've got to be," George added of the defensive performance. "We've got the athletes, and then we've got our presence down in the middle with Joel [Embiid] and Andre [Drummond]. I think we had a moment in Chicago where it kind of brought it together of, like, 'All right, we can play fast. We can get back. We can communicate.' ...
"If we can sit down and guard against them, that should kind of prime us for the season."
" READ MORE: What is Jared McCain's best role in the Sixers' lineup? Nick Nurse faces good options.
During their past five games, the Sixers rank second in the NBA in defensive efficiency (104.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), helping them creep up to 12th in the league in that category over the course of the full season (111.7 points per 100 possession) entering Thursday. They also ranked in the top 10 in categories that have become hallmarks of Nurse's aggressive style, such as steals (sixth, 9.3 per game), opponent turnovers (second, 17.9), deflections (tied for second, 16.2), and points off turnovers (seventh, 19).
In their past two wins, the Sixers outperformed an Orlando Magic team that ranked third in the NBA in defensive efficiency (106.1 points allowed per 100 possessions) by packing the paint against Orlando's size and being "willing to live with" some open three-point looks, Nurse said. Then, the Sixers slowed down the Bulls, who led the league in pace (104.8 possessions per game), ranked second in the league in fastbreak points (17.9 per game), and have been a top-three offense over their past 10 games (118.9 points per 100 possessions) entering Thursday.
"Everything that comes into our paint, or everything that's on the perimeter, has to be tough," Kelly Oubre Jr. said after the Orlando win. "It can't be easy and wide open, because that's how teams get a groove. They get a rhythm and they get momentum.
"Tonight we definitely had our ebbs and flows -- as all NBA games are -- but I think we outlasted them with just being disciplined with the game plan."
" READ MORE: Marc Jackson and Aaron McKie were Sixers teammates. Now their sons are thriving in the Catholic League.
More broadly, Nurse said the Sixers have dramatically improved at "handing off personnel to each other" when switching screens. That approach has required the undersized backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain to play "bigger" and more physical -- and for them and teammates to quickly re-switch them out of the most detrimental mismatches. George, who has been tasked as a lead voice to communicate coverages, added that the group is better recognizing breakdowns on the spot.
"We know what we're doing. We know who we are," George said. "And then there's just accountability that we hold ourselves to. We're able to talk to each other about that, and because of that, the results, we clean things up pretty quick and we move on."
That "expanded menu" also means the Sixers can shift into multiple zone-defense options in the middle of a game, which helped stall the Bulls' hot offensive start. Nurse said his team played two different zones in Chicago and in the second game against the Magic, and three in last week's first Orlando game.
" READ MORE: With a favorable stretch on the horizon, the Sixers are confident they can right the ship
Moving to a zone is always at least partially a "rhythm-changer," when Nurse feels like "Oh, Gosh, we're not guarding them. We've got to do something." Lately, though, the coach said those decisions have come with more nuance.
"Those schemes can help a guard in foul trouble by keeping him at the top of the zone and out of the low post," Nurse said.
It is also a way to play personnel groupings with two bigger bodies -- some combination of Embiid, Drummond, or Guerschon Yabusele -- because one of the Sixers' zone options takes the center out of the middle of the floor.
"Sometimes, I'm thinking we're way too big for [the opponent's lineup] we're playing against," Nurse said. "But I don't want to just match up size-wise, so a zone looks better."
During this unusual four-day break between games, Nurse said the Sixers have continued to refine the times when they switch more liberally, and players can wind up in any possible individual matchup. George added that he sees similarities between the Bulls and their next opponent, a Pacers team that also boasts a high-tempo reputation even if has not scored as efficiently as last season.
" READ MORE: Kelly Oubre Jr. clicks into complementary role as Sixers surge and start road to recovery
And as the Sixers get reacquainted with playing alongside Embiid on offense, Nurse expects to continue leaning on his team's resurgent defense.
"There's some staples that I think can take you a long way," Nurse said. "Defense is obviously one of them. And I think our defense is really, really coming along. No matter who's in, who's out, whatever, it's always going to keep you there until you can find the offensive rhythm."