Philadelphia 76ers: The Simmons Saric Embiid Combination

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Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Dario Saric (Croatia) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twelve overall pick to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Center/ Power Forward / Point Guard

This is unlikely, but could ultimately have the most upside for the Philadelphia 76ers. With the floor general Simmons at the point guard position, the Sixers automatically become a very tall team, perhaps the tallest lineup in the history of the NBA.

Every trend starts with the pioneer.

With Embiid at center, Saric at power forward, and Simmons at point guard, the team would need to have two very strong veteran two-way players on the roster. But the team would be strong, very strong.

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Saric and Embiid would be able to use their size and physicality to dominate the boards, and area of serious need of improvement next season. Surprisingly, the Philadelphia 76ers were dead last in rebounds in the 2015-2016 season. While we consider the various scenarios, that is a statistic that must be addressed going forward. In fact, not only did the Philadelphia 76ers get the fewest rebounds per game, but their opponents averaged the most rebounds per game.

But this lineup would also add to the Sixers strength – the three pointer. Last season, the Sixers were third overall (behind only the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers) in attempted three point shots. While they were not nearly as accurate, Simmons and Saric will help out in that regard. As Simmons draws traffic to himself, he will either go low to the post or flip the ball out to the three shot. Saric posted at the perimeter is just as capable of taking the long shot or driving in and flipping back out to another waiting shooter.

Given this new lineup, you can bet some other players not named Okafor will see their scoring averages rise rapidly.

"“I think people play (Covington) to shoot. I think he has not read the close-out well in the last month (December 2015) or so, driving it when he probably should’ve shot it, and shooting it when he should’ve driven with it. We’ve moved him back a little bit. He can shoot with range. He’s not hugging as much. That part of his game we’ve worked with him on, and I thought it translated into the last game where he just shot the ball. That’s what he does. To create that space and create that environment is a skill and a footwork technique that we’ve talked to him about, and he did do that.” – Brett Brown discussing Robert Covington’s shooting"

Sam Hinkie was especially delighted to sign Robert Covington to the Philadelphia 76ers, and he continues to grow more rounded as a basketball player and as a scoring threat. Placed at the small forward in this lineup, he will find plenty of clean looks at the three.

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