The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers Need To Fix Broken Wings

By Bret Stuter

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Nov 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) looks for an opening past the defense of Philadelphia 76ers forward Jerami Grant (39) and guard Hollis Thompson (31) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers Need To Fix Broken Wings

Take, these broken wings, and learn to fly again, learn to live so free.

The lyrics to this popular song could have been written specifically for the Philadelphia 76ers.  They are trying to build a winner in Philadelphia, and I may be wishful thinking, but I can definitely see the image beginning to form.   The team is sitting on some talent under the basket: perhaps a two man combination of Jahlil Okafor/Nerlens Noel/Joel Embiid.  Surprisingly, the team has found some talent in the point guard in T.J. McConnell, who is putting up some spirited minutes.

But the team is not sitting on championship caliber wings.   What is a wing? Wing players are usually the leading scorers on their team – they normally get the most shots, and there are a lot of basketball plays run specifically for them through the offense. On the defensive end a team’s “defensive stopper” is usually a wing as well. On the Phildelphia 76ers, the team is built to feature that type of play from the shooting guard or small forward positions. So far, they haven’t seen enough there.  In games where the Sixers are close or have the lead, fans must witness the other team come alive as the Sixers fade into the loss column.  Wings.  They help you stay afloat.  They take over games on either the offensive or defensive side of the ball.   They count most when the game is on the line. But…

The team is getting close to victory, close enough to give fans reason to believe it will happen despite the track record of not happening yet this year.   Has this team gotten its shooter?  Jahlil Okafor just put up 16 and 25 points, 11 and 12 rebounds, and 3 and 2 blocks respectively.  Both games had the Sixers holding a lead, but both games had the Sixers losing by five points.  Against Miami, Okafor missed a lay-up with 4:39 left to go in the game.  At the time of his shot, the Sixers led 89-86.  He wouldn’t see the ball again.  Against Minnesota, Jahlil Okafor made a two point shot with 4:58 left to go in the game.  At the time of his shot, the Sixers led 86-80.    The pattern is the same.  The results, unfortunately, are as well.

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In games where the team is holding onto the lead late in a game, it’s the wing man who steps up: either in scoring to keep the team in the lead, or in defense to shut down the other team before they can successfully rally.   Let’s revisit that Minnesota Timberwolves game.  From the last moment center Jahlil Okafor scored in that game, Andrew Wiggins scored  seven times, and missed on two other occasions.   In the process, he also drew three fouls.  In short, he scored eleven points. In the final four minutes of the game, he accounted for eleven of the twenty total points scored by the Wolves.   He personally outscored the entirety of the Sixers team in the final 4:58 .  He ended the game with 32 points.   Despite shooting 10 out of 21 field goals, he ended the game shooting 3 of 4 .  This was how one player takes over a game and seals a win.

It’s a cheap shot to take at the Sixers right now to say they don’t have that player.   They haven’t won a game, so clearly no single player has taken over and dominated in the closing minutes of a game to seal the win.   I think the question in my heart and mind right now is whether the team has that player on the roster.  During the off-season, I was hopeful that the power forward role might play into the strengths of Nerlens Noel, and that his athleticism might allow him to expand his shot arsenal.  With the early experience of the season, those hopes have dimmed.

I hoped that the 2014-15 season performance of Robert Covington might position him for that role.  But when the season began, he injured his knee in the final preseason game, which cost him two precious weeks of playing with the new roster.  Those weeks were far too important, as the team has been working with a subledger of the team roster, already working hard to compete with more experienced opponents.  But Covington’s injury placed him on the bench:

"“I got hit in it. I was like driving and the defender tried to cover and hit into my knee. And I hit it on the floor as well.”"

Head coach Brett Brown admitted the injury to Covington would hurt his already fragile offense.

"“It’s not like we were a high-scoring team to begin with, so you take a real punch in the guts. So with Robert Covington it hurts, but we’ll just try to do the best with the group that we have.”"

So how did Covington do in that final stretch against the Timberwolves?

He was 1 of 4 in that period, shooting 25% and 0 of 2 from three point distance. He got the ball, but simply failed to turn it into points.   Nerles Noel turned the ball over once and committed a foul.  Jerami Grant made a three point shot, but turned the ball over, fouled, and missed a field goal in that period.  Hollis Thompson made 2 for 2 field goals and had a rebound, but was too little.  T.J. McConnell missed a shot and committed a foul.  Isaiah Canaan missed a three point shot and committed two fouls.  It was a committee effort, a committee of players who didn’t have someone take over the game, put the burden on themselves, and either shoot, defend, or both well enough to hold onto the victory.  In stark contrast of their opponents in the past two games, the Sixers simply do not have that player yet who can dig down deep and wrestle success from their opponent.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers 2016 NBA Draft Updates

Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten could join the squad in December, while Carl Landry is expected back at the earliest in January.  But until then, this team plays games.   Those games have not been ending on a good note.  While the team is solidifying their place as likely picking first in this years NBA draft, they are also building a bigger shopping list than originally thought.  They will be looking for a quality wing.  Among other things.