How Will 2016 NBA Playoffs Impact The Philadelphia 76ers?.

Imitation, or Surivorship? The NBA playoffs’ outcomes will likely impact the direction of the Philadelphia 76ers

On one hand, you have the juggernaut NBA team fielding the epitome of small ball mechanics – the Golden State Warriors. With that small ball field, they have literally wiped the canvas of the NBA with their record setting 73-9 season. But it’s not about wins, is it? It’s about championships.

The other side of the spectrum is the old school traditional “bigs” at the post – the San Antonio Spurs. Their season ended 67-15, an incredible feat of NBA dominance, with the misfortune of occurring in the same year when the Warriors caught fire.

Right now, the Spurs are crushing the Memphis Grizzlies with smothering dominating defense. The Warriors, struggling to absorb the loss of superman Stephen Curry to an ankle injury, are meeting with some resistance with the Houston Rockets. The results could play a significant role in which direction the Philadelphia 76ers take in their rebuilding of the franchise. You see, this team is a blank canvas. There are enough pieces in place right now to form a solid core to the team. But this off-season will commit the team towards the version of “championship” version going forward. Whether that is offensively oriented or defensively oriented, small ball or tall ball – this Philadelphia 76ers team can go in any direction. But once they begin, they are committed.

So the question which faces the team is: Which direction should they commit to?

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Well, the bias of the roster is certainly towards the taller roster format. That is due to the fact that this Sixers team sitting on three very talented centers, any of which could start on virtually any NBA basketball team. Adding to the size advantage is the anticipated arrival of forward Dario Saric, a strong and skilled prospect who will immediately upgrade the Sixers fast break and ball movement, as well as add some firepower to their perimeter game.

But the Sixers have shown their own version of small ball, and have had surprising success with it too. In that lineup, the team tosses a center, and then builds down, flooding the court with guards. When the team floods the court with Nik Stauskas, T.J. McConnell, Ish Smith, Isaiah Canaan, Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson, and the like, they are pesky on defense and can threaten from the perimeter – essentially neutralizing their small ball counterparts.

Should the Golden State Warriors prevail, the team would be wise to re-sign point guard Ish Smith, grab Brandon Ingram in the draft (if they can), and focus on the small ball talent that permeates this draft. Should the San Antonio Spurs prove to be of championship ilk, then the team would be wise to shift to the taller spectrum, and would be pairing Ben Simmons with Saric in the 2016 lineup. The team could also show interest in Dragon Bendor, Thon Maker, or even Gonzaga’s Kilt Wiltjer or Damontos Sabonis .

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Should the Sixers go the tall ball route, they could boast one of the tallest lineups in NBA history in 2016, while maintaining the athleticism and physicality to play toe to toe with the smaller lineups. Anchored by wunderkind Joel Embiid, the tall ball roster is the most electrifying for the Sixers fans who have been far more than patient with this team. Imagine a roster of Embiid, Okafor, Saric, Covington and Simmons, and you can easily be swept up into believing the team could pull off 30+ wins next year.

But to get there, the decision makers of the team need to believe that scheme wins championships. This year’s playoffs are the perfect audition – Warriors versus Spurs, Spurs versus Warriors. Whichever finds more success will certainly give Sixers reason to ponder their own future.