Best Five: Cards or Players
But the Philadelphia 76ers will get their best five players on the floor. That’s a mandate of head coach Brett Brown. Ignoring a career rebirth of one of the veterans, or a jump in progress by one of the team’s young players, that lineup looks to include Simmons, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Saric, Embiid, and Okafor before the season ends.
The shortest player of this potential line-up is 6-foot-6 Luwawu-Cabarrot. Swap him out for 6-foot-9 inch Robert Covington and you have engineered what could likely be the tallest lineup of NBA history. But not just the tallest just for the sake of the NBA record books. Simmons, Saric, Luwawu-Cabarrot, and even Embiid display excellent athleticism and versatility. While Jahlil Okafor is more of a specialist, a post center with good offense, in this lineup he can metamorphose into an offensive torrent – a player who can generate 30 plus points per game.
Some players will excel on offense. Some players will excel on defense. Some players may even excel at both. But now that the team has locked down the arrival of international star Dario Saric, the team can begin to assemble the roster which was only possible in the minds and conversations of head coach Brett Brown and then-general manager Sam Hinkie.
This is the last piece. This is the final card to the royal flush hand. This is going to be an exciting year to be a Philadelphia 76ers fan.
Next: Space Pace and Pass, oh my!