The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers Must Wait For Greatness – We’re Great At It

By Bret Stuter

Jun 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo during an introduction press conference at the Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo during an introduction press conference at the Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The Myth

The Philadelphia 76ers have a front court logjam.  Do you consider that a (A) fact, a (B) perception, or a (C) myth?   If you answered A or B, you have failed this quiz and must now take remedial lessons by rereading the article on the topic Philadelphia 76ers Front Court Logjam Myth.

We’ve talked about this logjam for years, but the reality is that Joel Embiid has been off the basketball court these past two years, Nerlens Noel was out his first year and has just two years of NBA experience, and Jahlil Okafor was injured and sat out the end of his one and only season in the NBA.  As I pointed out in that article:

"53 games out of a total of 246 games is just 21.544715447% of the games folks.  Stare at this monster and understand what it truly is – just a boogie man fictionalized by media to give conflict to the team."

So the team must somehow learn to fit three big men into the space of 48 game minutes.  But that’s not the whole story.

Toss the conventional $20 Million / year salary presumptions out the window folks. This is the Philadelphia 76ers.  We have 3 “star” centers, and of the three only Nerlens Noel has played a full 82 game season.

The Phoenix Suns boast Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin, Sonny Weems, John Jenkins and have just drafted Tyler Ulis to cover two guard positions.

The Atlanta Hawks had Jeffrey Teague and Dennis Schroder for the 2013-2016 seasons, two of the three season boasting two starting point guards on one roster.

NBA teams WANT to have starting caliber players on the bench. Many cannot afford them.  Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers can afford to have all three centers on this roster.

Next: Learning opportunity