Philadelphia 76ers: Success is reliant on production from those not named Embiid and Simmons
If the Philadelphia 76ers are going to go on a deep playoff run, they need reliable and consistent production outside of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are two of the best players at their respective positions and already two of the best players in the NBA. But if the Philadelphia 76ers are going to go on a deep playoff run, they need reliable and consistent production from players not named Embiid and Simmons.
Last season, the 76ers finally broke out. Whether it be the domination on both ends from Embiid, Simmons’ captivating skill set, Dario Saric‘s steady offensive play, J.J. Redick’s sharpshooting, or Robert Covington‘s “3 and D” play, the 76ers were a difficult opponent in the 2017-18 season. Finishing the season 52-30, the 76ers were the third seed in the Eastern Conference and made their first playoff appearance in six years.
Unfortunately for the Philly faithful, the 76ers hit a wall in the second round of the playoffs. After beating the Miami Heat in a convincing five-game series, the 76ers lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. But, still a young team with a promising core, the future is potentially very bright for the 76ers.
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Embiid has established himself as one of the best big men in the association. He’s a walking double-double, a force to be reckoned with on the offensive end, and a top-tier defender. Coming off a year in which he averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game, there’s reason to believe that Embiid will be formidable in his second full season.
After missing his rookie campaign, Simmons was the real deal in his first season on the court. Averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game, the 6-foot-10 point guard showcased a complete skill set. Going forward, there’s reason to believe that he’ll be even more productive.
But after Embiid and Simmons is where the problem presents itself for the 76ers: who else can head coach Brett Brown rely on?
Redick is viewed as a veteran leader and an outside shooting threat and rightfully so. He’s shot at, or above, 42 percent from beyond the arc in each of the last four seasons and is a reliable scoring outlet. His ability to shoot off the dribble and from beyond the arc is a key component to the 76ers offense because there are very few snipers on this team.
Covington has shown a knack for hoisting up outside jumpers, but, for the most part, he’s more of a lockdown perimeter defender. Markelle Fultz has started at the off-guard in the four games the 76ers have played this season, but he’s been off the floor for the majority of the second half of games in favor of Redick. It’s evident that the former No. 1 overall pick may never live up to his drafting, but he can still be a productive source of offense. With that said, if Fultz can’t be such a threat, whether it be in the starting five, or off the bench, the 76ers are going to be in trouble.
T.J. McConnell is a scrappy player, but the guard is not someone who Brown is going to run his offense through and/or expect a valiant effort from on that end of the floor. Amir Johnson can finish in the paint, but isn’t an offensive focal point. Jonah Bolden, Landry Shamet, and Furkan Korkmaz are also not go-to scorers. Veteran forward Wilson Chandler is currently nursing a hamstring injury.
Losing Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli to free agency hurt the 76ers outside shooting and their bench, as a whole. But management did little to nothing to fill the void their absences created, which hurt their team’s depth. Sure, they still have Redick and Covington, but outside of those two, the 76ers pose an underwhelming outside shooting threat, as a unit.
The 76ers bench isn’t putrid, by any means, but it’s underwhelming when compared to the likes of their competition in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics have Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and Daniel Theis. Some of those players could be starters on other teams. The same goes for the Toronto Raptors who feature Fred VanVleet, C.J. Miles, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, and Serge Ibaka/Jonas Valanciunas.
The Indiana Pacers have Tyreke Evans, Cory Joseph, Domantas Sabonis, Doug McDermott, and Kyle O’Quinn coming off their bench. The Milwaukee Bucks have Ilyasova, Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, Tony Snell, and Donte DiVincenzo coming off theirs.
The biggest difference between the 76ers and other Eastern Conference powerhouses is depth. The Celtics, Raptors, Pacers, and Bucks have it; the 76ers don’t. They, undoubtedly, have a talented roster, but what is this team if they’re solely reliant on the production of Embiid and Simmons?
It’s not to say that this offense shouldn’t be run through Embiid and Simmons. In fact, they’re one of the best duos in the NBA. Embiid can play in the post, stretch the floor, attack the rack, and serves as a defensive anchor. Meanwhile, Simmons is a 6-foot-10 version of Russell Westbrook given his ability to get to the rim with ease, go coast-to-coast, find the open man, and hit the boards at will; Simmons is also an elite defender. But even if the two of them take their games to the next level, the 76ers need more consistency from the rest of their squad.
Such a boost could come from Saric growing into a reliable go-to scorer, or Fultz playing like the player the 76ers drafted him to be, or even Covington becoming a more aggressive offensive player. Perhaps Wilson Chandler gets healthy and gives the 76ers a frontline scorer.
The 76ers were seventh in points per game last season (109.8), but in the second round of the playoffs, they were shutdown by a Celtics team playing without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. While it was only the first game of the young NBA season, the 76ers’ struggles against the Celtics continued, losing 105-87 in TD Garden; the arena is becoming a haunted house for Brown’s squad.
Defensively, the 76ers are a relatively sound unit. Embiid and Simmons are reliable defenders, as is Covington. Their bench unit should be able to follow suit; that’s the most encouraging aspect of this team outside of their dynamic star duo.
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Right now, the 76ers are, at best, the third biggest threat in the East. They can certainly improve between now and mid-April, but the team they have assembled is not going to overcome the likes of the Celtics, or Raptors and perhaps others. They don’t have the depth, two-way players, or offensive weapons to surpass those considered the frontrunners in the East.
The Philadelphia 76ers can be a potent force in the NBA. But they can’t be such a threat as a two-man show; they need others to come into their own.