The Philadelphia 76ers Subtle Small Ball Success

While much of the Philadelphia 76ers have focused on big men and fitting so many into the roster, would it be a true surprise if the team suddenly shifted its focus to load up on guards and develop a small ball scheme?

Small Ball. Guard City. The antithesis of big men crashing boards, blocking shots, and the bump and grind of muscling to get a shot up at the hoop. It’s a strategy of getting the opposite of what your opponent can defend. They go big and slow? You go small and fast. Foot speed, ball movement, anything to get the tempo of the game past the comfort zone of the opposition. Make them labor for breath, fight to cover real estate. If they build skyscrapers around the inner city real estate surrounding the hoop, dash to the suburbs and pummel them with treys from the perimeter.

In short, hit them where it hurts. Be where they ain’t.

The mantra of the Golden State Warriors, the team with an incredible 53 win 5 loss season so far, and on track to end up with the highest winning percentage in the NBA, is bound to get some converts. After all, their nearly flawless performance each night on an NBA basketball court is loaded with excitement, and they seem to be getting better. The Warriors have placed 6’7″ power forward Draymond Green at the center position, sometimes giving away up to 7 inches to his opponent.

"“This is a copycat league. The success of Golden State has propelled coaches to play more small ball than maybe they even wanted to. More teams will push the envelope.” said Randy Wittma of the Washington Wizards"

And so, the NBA has been moving to the small guy. When the Indiana Pacers got burned by the smaller and faster Miami Heat in post season, they have adopted the tactics of the enemy

"It wasn’t even about the Warriors,” Vogel said. “It was about not being able to overcome LeBron and Miami three straight years. We couldn’t even throw the ball inside. We had a lot of turnovers just trying to do that.”"

And so, the focus of the league is on small guys, while the focus of the Philadelphia 76ers remains on the big guys. Or does it? You see, the Phoenix Suns were once run by the pair of men who truly introduced small ball into the NBA. They won games with it, but never the championship.  But the rest of the NBA did not close the book on the effort.   Some coaches took notes.  Some coaches took interest.  Eventually, some coaches took the NBA by storm.  And so, the Golden State Warriors have tugged hard on the rest of the league to follow them in their excellence.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers continue to load up on big men, draft picks… and as 2015 drew to its close, the team signed on a new assistant head coach, a man with some interest in the NBA small ball craze.

None other than the godfather of small ball himself, Mike D’Antoni.

Next: D'Antoni Started It All