The Philadelphia 76ers Subtle Small Ball Success

One More Angle

So the Sixers have success with the small lineup, the team has the former GM/Owner and head coach who innovated the small roster in the NBA. The team has previously been drafting bigs, whether purposefully or by the roll of the dice.  But the team has divested of smalls.   Of all the accidents, fates, and even the random chances that occur in the NBA, there is a decidedly purposeful hand at work from Hinkie to go bigger while the rest of the NBA goes smaller.

Does it continue?

Well let’s think of this from one more direction.  The facts that have lined up so far are conflicting as we have presented them so far.  But what if we reframe the team’s outlook on the rebuild?

If the team wanted to go big, what would they need?   First they would need larger bodies.   So far, the team has plenty of those and more on the way.  Secondly, they would need to speed up the game for those big men.   Right now, the team has the original architect of the fast pace offense, Mike D’Antoni, and the head coach is a strong advocate of the “pace space pass” mantra.  But that message is lost on the wrong type of player.

But who are the Sixers bringing in?  Which one player have the Sixers invested more time, effort, and organizational currency to support?    It would seem that Joel Embiid is that kind of hybrid player who has a potential to bring the speed of smaller players to a 7’2″ frame.  The Sixers are also looking at a young man in the form of Dario Saric who is a big man who can pass the ball as sweet as anyone.  That “pace space pass” will certainly be promoted on the floor whenever Saric suits up as a Sixer.   Saric pushes the ball up the court.   That gives the Sixers alley-oop a feed from virtually anywhere on the basketball court.  If fast breaks lead to points, then Saric leads to fast breaks.

While the team remains in this holding pattern, the losses pile up and hope diminishes.  But the holding pattern is not indecision.  Joel Embiid is the focus of this team’s future, and therefore all major moves are awaiting his outcome.  Once he is in place and running up and down the basketball court, the team can elect the center who compliments his style best.  With the two big selections, the team can then slide Saric to the three, and then work the back court.   Should the team end up with Ben Simmons, he could very likely end up as the team’s point guard, ala Magic Johnson.  To round out this roster, you slide Robert Covington to the two spot.  What you end up with is the tallest lineup in the NBA.   If they can compete on defense, this team will take the league by storm. You see, virtually every team is shifting small to some extent.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers Tumbling In Eighth Straight Loss

While the scheme to optimize this projected Sixer roster has yet to be developed, the team has the man who designed the small ball concepts.  If anyone can find a way to counter that offense, it’s the combination of Mike D’Antoni and Brett Brown.  Meanwhile,  the final determination of which picks the Sixers will receive and where those picks will fall has yet to happen.  But with two of the players in the form of Joel Embiid and Dario Saric on their way, the total impact of this NBA draft is mitigated.

Small ball may be a huge success in the way the Golden State Warriors roster plays right now, but eventually the code will be cracked and the next innovation will take its place.   The Sixers are banking that the next wave of NBA success is big men, and while they enjoy some success with small ball now, that experiment should change when the 2016 roster is finalized.