Philadelphia 76ers Hint Tall Ball Is Coming

Tall Ball.

We’ve flirted with the concept. We’ve hinted at the possibilities. The promise, the sheer hype of pulling off the move in the OPPOSITE direction of the NBA in-the-rush-to-drive-Golden-State-Warriors-small-ball-to-a-gymnasium-near-you basketball now is insanity. But it’s my kind of crazy.

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We flirted with the concept before in our narrative where we discussed the NBA playoff implications to the Philadelphia 76ers building process. We had also laid the groundwork in discussing the various ways of the team making use of the influx of rookies Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Dario Saric on the team already tilting very tall – even by NBA standards. What we came up with was a tall ball line-up of center Jahlil Okafor, power forward Joel Embiid, small forward Dario Saric, shooting guard Robert Covington, and point guard Ben Simmons.

We conceived a lineup whose shortest starter would be the diminutive 6-foot-9 Robert Covington. A lineup with Ben Simmons running the floor, distributing the ball and anchoring a potentially NBA best fast-break offense. Placing Simmons and Saric on the basketball court simultaneously virtually assures the Philadelphia 76ers of virtually instant drives to Okafor at the post, an Embiid jumper, a Saric or Covington trey, or a Simmons slashing drive to the basket.

If only the Philadelphia 76ers would give Ben Simmons a look at point guard….

Brett Brown told me it wouldn’t surprise if Simmons evolves into PG type, will use him “more as a point-forward, Draymond Green-type" first
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) June 27, 2016

Well sure, Brown says that. But Ben Simmons is a forward, isn’t he? He would not want to forego the glory of scoring to set up other teammates for easy buckets, would he? I mean, how does the player feel about that possibility?

Ben Simmons on why he's different: "Being a 6-10 PG I’m able to push the ball up the court & start breaks a lot quicker than most big guys."
— Jessica Camerato (@JessicaCamerato) June 24, 2016

Necessity is the mother of invention. Right now, there are few point guards in the NBA who can play alongside Ben Simmons effectively. To do so, that would need to be a guard who can either run an offense at the point, or be equally as effective off the ball as a shooting guard.

The Philadelphia 76ers do not see the opportunity to grab such a uniquely skilled player in the NBA. So they will do the next best thing.

They’ll improvise.

And why not? Admittedly, the Philadelphia 76ers believe that they have, on the roster today, three centers who could start for an NBA team. Why shouldn’t they conceive of ways to fit them onto the basketball court simultaneously?

The belief that the 2015-2016 season was an utter and absolute failure ignores one major fact: Brett Brown was forced to develop mentor and assemble the team On The Fly last year. You cannot repair an aircraft engine in the air. You cannot expect a head coach to find a starting point guard from a group of hopefuls as the season is beginning, while simultaneously developing the team’s front court synchronization at the same time.

As the Philadelphia 76ers enter the 2016-2017 season, the team can pull in the brick on personnel moves and focus forward now. JaKarr Sampson proved to Philadelphia that a tall guard can succeed at the point, a situation head coach Brett Brown took great pride in discussing. With Simmons at the point, the 76ers have an opportunity to score points in bunches. Add Dario Saric to that lineup and you’ve placed the transition game with potential to become one of the NBA’s best. Restore Jahlil Okafor to his center post offensive game, and you’ve just chalked up a 20+ point per game contributor. Now slide Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel in, and you’ll get both offense (more from Embiid) and defense. Bring in Robert Covington, and you’ve introduced another 20+ point scorer.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers Must Wait For Greatness - We're Great At It

This team will need time to take full advantage of their size to clog passing lanes, block shots, and reach in for steals. But offensively, the team should be able to average 103 points per game or better (an improvement of nearly six points per game over the 2015-2016 average).