The Philadelphia 76ers don't look like the team that won 52 games and reached the second round of the playoffs last season.

With woeful three-point shooting and little scoring outside of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the young 76ers sit at just 5-4 through their first nine games. It's early, but this is not the team that many expected would contend with the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors for Eastern Conference supremacy.

One thing head coach Brett Brown would like to see? Simmons, his superstar point guard, take more practice shots going forward, per team insider Jon Johnson.

Amazingly, Simmons has yet to drill a three-pointer in his career. The No. 1 pick from 2016 took just 11 shots from beyond the arc last season, and none of them went in. Instead of using their 6-foot-10 point guard to try more outside shooting, Philly is relying on Simmons and Embiid to score from right near the rim.

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Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

It hasn't helped that fellow point guard Markelle Fultz - the first pick from 2017 - had the "yips" last season and struggled mightily with his shooting. In just 14 games last year, Fultz shot a mere .405 percent from the field and missed his lone three-point shooting attempt.

Per ESPN.com, the 76ers rank 21st in the NBA with a .439 field goal percentage. and a mere 19th overall with a .350 three point shooting percentage. They are attempting the ninth-most three-point shots per game (34.9), but there has been very little success in it.

Veteran J.J. Redick still gets the job done as one of the game's top three-point shooters, but the 76ers simply won't contend until either Simmons or Fultz manage to fix their outside shooting.

The 76ers reportedly didn't want to give up any of their young players in a potential Kawhi Leonard trade, a sign that the front office is confident that they will grow. But if Fultz doesn't begin to improve soon, the 76ers could decide to move on from him soon - because starting point guards simply cannot be this lackluster beyond the arc.

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