2015-16 Sixers Roster Preview: The Front Court

Josh Wilson

Jul 14, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) holds the ball away from New York Knicks forward Alex Kirk (53) during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Are you jealous of the diehard NFL fans yet? Football is right around the corner. No, seriously, the regular season kicks off in less than a week. NBA fans aren’t so lucky, and have to wait weeks still before training camp even begins.

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For the Philadelphia 76ers, this season is pivotal. It could be the middle of a see-saw, in a metaphorical way. It’s been years of an uphill climb with lots of rebuilding and moving players around, but finally, things appear to be looking up, and getting easier as that see-saw starts to go down.

Sure, losing Joel Embiid to yet another setback with his navicular bone in his foot isn’t something to be happy about. Luckily, things are working out, though, and missing out on D’Angelo Russell in the draft oddly played out to be a good thing for the Sixers.

Russell going a pick before the Sixers could take him allowed them to ‘settle’ for Jahlil Okafor, an offensively dominant big man. The addition of him will make up for the missing Embiid, for now, and they will hopefully have one of the best front courts in the league as he is likely to start alongside Nerlens Noel.

Sure, there may be issues with figuring out how to balance three big men once Embiid, Noel, and Okafor are all healthy, but that’s a problem for the future Sixers, and a decent problem to have, at that.

These two can’t take up all of the playing time, however, and the big men on the bench will need to contribute as well.

All things considered, there is a lot to preview regarding the Sixers front court for the 2015-16 season.

Next: The Starters

Apr 8, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) dribbles the ball around Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Starters

As I previously mentioned, the starters are going to be Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. Noel started 71 games last year, so it’s no surprise that his second full year will have him leading the Sixers. It’s safe to assume that Okafor will be taking over the reigns as a center starter this season, too, since the rest of the options haven’t played all that well.

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Furkan Aldemir is the only player listed as another center according to NBA.com since Guillermo Hernangomez was traded to the New York Knicks. Henry Sims has left the team, and Arturas Gudaitis — although putting up decent numbers in foreign leagues — was traded to the Sacramento Kings as part of the trade that brought Philadelphia Nik Stauskas.

So, that leaves us with Okafor starting at center, and Noel starting at power forward, despite his traditional strong suit being at center. Could we see Noel take over at center in some instances? I’m sure that’s not out of the question. When guys like Aldemir and Robert Covington come in to play at the four spot, there’s a chance Okafor could sit and Noel would be the big man. I think Noel being a versatile player who can play either front court slots is a good idea.

With the trend in the NBA currently leaning to power forwards that can shoot three pointers, Noel is at a disadvantage, but he knows this completely. For this reason, he’s been working on his jump shot this summer. This Philly.com article reported that Noel has been working on form and his shot for two hours a day, five days a week this summer, a promising bit of information for Sixers fans.

With zero attempted three pointers last year, I hope that he at least has improved enough to try his hand at some longer shots. Last year 79% of his attempted shots were from 10 feet or shorter, so some more range is definitely called for.

With Okafor, his troubles are on the other end of the floor. His troubles coming out of college were a bad work ethic on defense, and a lack of effort in contesting shots. Noel is known for his hops and getting up to block shots (1.9 per game), so if Okafor wants to help make the Sixers one of the most dominant front courts, he’ll have to step up his game and actually leave his feet on defense, and not just offense.

Scoring is a huge part of the game — and something the Sixers need help with — but still, defensive effort is necessary, and his laziness will only be amplified in the NBA if he can’t address his defensive issues immediately.

Next: The Reserves

Mar 30, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Furkan Aldemir (19) throws a novelty basketball to fans before a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Wells Fargo Center. The Lakers won 113-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Backups

While Okafor and Noel are the focal point of the front court, they can’t play every minute of every game. For this reason, the backups are almost as important as the starters. This may be the last season for some of the front court reserves to get significant playing time with the impending debut of Joel Embiid next year.

Furkan Aldemir has already been brought up, and I think he could surprise some people this year. I wrote a prediction article on what he can do this season a few months back. Since Aldemir can fit nicely in as a center or a power forward, there is a good chance he could see am increase in minutes this year, compared to the 13.2 per game that he got last season.

This is Aldemir’s first whole summer where he hasn’t had to move around from team to team, so he’s been finally able to settle in and hit the gym, which is hopefully beneficial for him.

I see him mainly backing up for Noel, but I believe there’s still a place for him at center. Seemingly, he played more center in Turkey, but in the American rendition of basketball, he fits in better as a power forward. He’s certainly not huge at 6’9 and 229 pounds, but he is known for his ability to be on the boards and grabbing rebounds. I think he should get some looks at the five spot.

Richaun Holmes was taken 37th overall by the Sixers in this year’s draft, but had a rough start to his NBA career, after fracturing his elbow in Summer League. He should be on the upswing of his recovery at this point, though, meaning we could expect him to be available for the season debut.

Holmes is looked at as an incredibly underrated player, and not many expect him to be able to do much, but Sixers fans know this could easily be a false look at Holmes.

During the three Summer League games he did play, he only played about 16 minutes per game, but was still able to score 9.7 points per game, and grab nearly five rebounds.

Holmes is definitely a player on the fence as far as making the final roster. We could see him in the D-League this season, but if this second rounder plays his cards right, he could find him supporting one of the best front courts in the NBA as an off-the-bench asset.

Lastly, Gerald Wallace is a small and power forward with experience. Although he hasn’t done much power forward work at all in years, he could be a player who occasionally subs in as the four spot.

I’m a little leery to assume that Wallace has a place on the final roster. Although his age — which can be used to mentor younger players — can be seen as a positive aspect to the team, it can also be seen as a curse. There’s no doubt, he’s on the decline, as he hasn’t averaged double digit points in any of the last three seasons.

Wallace, to me, is good as more of an off-the-court player, and a coach that’s on player contract of sorts. Sure, occasionally he could come in and help get the ball moving, but he’s certainly not as good as he used to be. His experience though, could still be good for mentoring younger guys. He’s no Paul Pierce, but he’s pretty much all the Sixers have right now as far as a veteran influence.

Next: Projections

Mar 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) dribbles past Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Projections

Despite the fact that the two projected starters of the Sixers haven’t even played a combined 82 NBA games, they’re looked at — at least in the eyes of Sixers fans — to be one of the best NBA front courts out there. I think there’s some leeway in the minds of most fans since Noel and Okafor are both very young, but of course our hopes are high.

What could we expect from this starting front court, realistically? I think for sure, we should be looking for them to be great offensively. Although they’re young, they’re dominant, and know how to score.

With Okafor’s offensive skill set, and Noel’s great blocking, they’re bound to be feared this year.

I believe between the two of them, we should expect 25+ points per game, as well as 5 blocks. With Nerlens already averaging 9.9 points last year, and the expectation that he will improve, I think he could get at least 12 points per game. That leaves Okafor with 13 points to pick up, a goal not all that far out even for a rookie.

Noel got 2 blocks per game, so he will have to up that to get to five blocks between the two of them. As addressed earlier, Okafor will also have to have a defensive mindset change if they’re going to reach that goal.

The bench is important, too, and I think the front court bench should be able to average about 15-18 points per game, assuming that the backups are mainly Aldemir and Holmes.

All things considered, I think we’re in for a good year as far as the front court goes. The main issues revolve around the other aspects of the team.

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Josh Wilson

Josh is currently the Managing Editor of FanSided.com. He has worked with FanSided in some capacity for a total of eight years, starting as a contributor for Swarm and Sting, Toro Times, and HoopsHabit in 2015. He served as a site expert for The Sixer Sense during 'The Process' years while starting his educational track at Temple University as a journalism student. He later transferred to the State University of New York at Cortland where he completed his B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism. For FanSided, Josh worked as Operations Assistant before taking on a role as Editorial Director of the NBA Division, a role he held for three years. Along the way he also helped start and lead the FanSided fellowship program which created a path for several young journalists to start their careers in sports media. Nothing is more important to Josh than Yankee wins and his family.