The Sixer Sense
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What Happens If Joel Embiid Is Better Than His Reputation?

By Bret Stuter

Feb 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices prior to a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices prior to a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 12, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) looks on from the court in the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC conference tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) looks on from the court in the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC conference tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Pieces Needed to Augment Joel Embiid

This is the challenge upon the Philadelphia 76ers front office.  Building a team around Joel Embiid which will excel in the type game he will bring.   Ideally, the team should have three characteristics:   superior ball movement and handling;  excellent perimeter offense and defense, a back court which can score when needed, but who will dish the ball to the open man at the post.
If the Sixers do that, they will be a much improved team next season.

With the arrival of fellow “Sixer at large” Dario Saric, the Philadelphia 76ers will take a huge step towards improving their ball movement.  Saric brings a strong passing game, and his presence will give the Sixers the ability to get the ball to Embiid from virtually any point on the basketball court.   If the Philadelphia 76ers are able to draft Ben Simmons, that will solidify the team for the foreseeable future.

The Sixers perimeter defense is aimless so far.  That won’t improve next season as the attention of head coach Brett Brown will be more focused than ever before on getting the most out of his players and his rookies in the front court.  To take the pressure off Brown, and boost the progress of the team’s young wings, the Sixers would be well served to dust off their wallets and pay a huge dollar short duration contract to one of the NBA premier wings who will be testing free agency this off-season.   Just a two or three year deal would be sufficient to give the team a beachhead for their own young talent to develop.

The last element, a back court which can score but will dish the ball is likely found in the NBA draft.  The Philadelphia 76ers have a minimum of three first round draft picks this season, and if they fail to end up picking in the top two spots, they should still be able to find a contributor in the back court who can start next season.  Since Embiid will likely draw so much attention towards the basket, his teammates should have plenty of opportunities to score if they take open high percentage shots.  With good scouting, the Sixers will have those personnel on the roster from the first game of next season.

The 2016-2017 season will not be playoffs for the Philadelphia 76ers, but it will not be a team struggling to find any wins either.  With a healthy Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers should improve on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.  As new faces fill in the gaps of the lineup around him, the Sixers will find something they have not had for the past three seasons:  a stable roster.  From that point going forward, it will be fewer experiments, fewer swaps, and as a result, fewer mistakes.  The one thing the Philadelphia 76ers have not had in a very long time is consistency.  Joel Embiid could bring that to the team next season.  With that, wins will arrive alongside.