Today, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, wrote an excellent post that was titled ‘Something Isn’t Quite Right With the Sixers’. This is a topic I wanted to write about anyway, but he did an unbelievable job with it. His opening paragraph says it all.
“Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons aren’t the perfect pairing, but they’re better than what most teams could ever dream of having. Still, something is missing in Philadelphia. Even worse, it’s hard to pin down which of their issues is the most pressing. I asked executives and agents what Philly’s single biggest issue is, and the answers were all over the place: Simmons’s unwillingness to shoot, Embiid’s durability, the lack of a perimeter shot creator, the absence of high-volume shooters, the shallow bench, team chemistry, and on it went.”
However, I’d like to add my own spin on it. I’d like to take that premise a step further. The 76ers have major problems and will never win a championship with this group unless drastic changes are made. Philadelphia is basically the same team as the Pacers, except that they have more talent. The problem is that talent is like a puzzle that couldn’t mesh less.
The 76ers are 24-14 with a net rating that ranks 9th in the league. That’s not terrible, but Philadelphia is underperforming and looks like the furthest thing from a real championship contender. Problem number one starts and ends with Al Horford. Signing Horford never made sense for this team and it’s killing them.
Horford is already complaining about his role on the team despite having more touches in Philly than he did his last two years in Boston. Horford represents a lot of problems for the 76ers.
A: he’s SLOW. Philadelphia ranked 8th last year in pace (102.59). This year, they rank 17 in that same category (99.89). It takes Horford forever to get up and down the court. His feet look heavy and we all know the man can’t jump. Swapping Jimmy Butler for Al Horford has made the 76ers slower and less able to create their own shot. The offensive rating is way down and that’s only with Butler on the roster for half the year. Horford is basically producing from a team standpoint like an old washed up Robert Covington. That’s not getting it done.
Horford’s role in Boston was as this playmaking big that could score. His downfall was lack of speed and rebounding. If Horford isn’t scoring or setting up others, he’s not valuable. Horford is scoring 12.3 points per game and Brett Brown has no idea how to use the guy. At times, Horford looks like a long slug that’s just there.
Here’s what’s interesting. When Embiid is off the floor, the Simmons and Horford front line plays well. Philly has a net rating of +6 with Simmons and Horford on the court and Embiid off the court. Which makes sense. The Embiid and Simmons pairing doesn’t work. Horford actually stretches the floor and Simmons can do his thing without a guy clogging the lane. At the end of the day, the rest of the league has gone small. Philadelphia has gone big. There’s a reason why they’re struggling. It would be another story if Horford presented challenges without the ball, but he doesn’t.
There’s only one avenue to fix this. Philly has to go for the Al Horford – Chris Paul swap. It’s the only way they can fix this. Paul would give Philly a real play making option that can shoot, defend, and bring a leadership quality that seems to be missing. Philadelphia needs an orchestrator. Right now Philly is the goofiest team in the NBA. The Thunder could bite too. Billy Donovan probably loves Big Al from their time at Florida.
Philadelphia has failed to recreate the scoring punch by Jimmy Butler. Al Horford ain’t it. Neither is Tobias Horris who execs (according to KOC) also believe is untradable. Horris and spot up and hit spots but can’t really create on his own. Josh Richardson is a nice two guard, but he’s not special like Butler is. Miami is clearly fine without Richardson.
Brett Brown just flat out can’t coach. It feels like everybody the 76ers get their hands on, they get worse. Markelle Fultz, Jimmy Butler, and Al Horford have been better elsewhere. Ben Simmons isn’t progressing and still refusing to shoot. Doesn’t that fall on Brown? KOC included this Gif in his post. My jaw dropped. I can’t remember a time the Ben Simmons pick and roll has been in the playbook. When you think about it, why the hell aren’t the 76ers using him as a screener? The guy can’t shoot so wouldn’t it make sense to use him that way?
It just feels like Brett Brown gets outcoached against guys like Brad Stevens, and Bud in Milwaukee. Some of this falls on him too.
The Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid duo has never been a perfect fit. When the rest of the pieces on the roster don’t make sense, it makes the pairing look much worse. I don’t know where Philadelphia goes from here but I have zero hope for them making noise as a title contender. The 76ers have major issues with very little obvious solutions.
