Dario Saric Completes Philadelphia 76ers Royal Flush

Mystifying pundits and basketball minds, Dario Saric Is Joining the Philadelphia 76ers this season, completing the Philadelphia 76ers Royal Flush.

It’s the unbeatable hand in the game of poker. In the event of a tie: Highest rank at the top of the sequence wins. The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand. Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank, and one side card or ‘kicker’.

The Philadelphia 76ers have done something very similar.  In one off-season, the team has added first overall pick Ben Simmons, 2014 third pick Joel Embiid, 2014 twelfth pick Dario Saric, and 24th pick Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to go with 2015 third pick Jahlil Okafor.

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I could include Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel, T.J. McConnell, Jerami Grant and others, but for this analysis, let’s focus on just five players, all new or nearly new to the NBA, and talk about their penchant to fit and complete what may be a very good NBA lineup for the foreseeable future.

What does that mean in terms of playing time?  An NBA average career is 4.8 years.   That includes players who are signed and do not make it.  I’ll risk going out on a limb and give each of the five named players a 10 year career length apiece.   That means this lineup can play the next 9 years together.  Nine years to grow, develop, and shine under the spotlight of the modern NBA.

I won’t bore you with projections of how good each individual player could be.  That has been and will be argued elsewhere, over and over.  My point is to suggest that the dominoes are all falling into place now, synchronously, and this team is lining up to be very very good for the foreseeable future because of this team’s complimentary skillset.

Next: Best Five: Cards or Players

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!

Space Pace and Pass, oh My!

It starts at the point.  It starts with the player who calls the plays, directs traffic, brings the ball down the court, and who can dish out the basketball with pin point precision.

It will start with Ben Simmons.

But Ben Simmons, as he demonstrates with more and more authority, will score rebound and distribute the ball. But he needs shooters who can score as well as he can get them the ball.

This lineup will have scorers.  Okafor at the post, Embiid from virtually anywhere, and Saric and Luwawu/Covington from the perimeter.  In this lineup, Jahlil Okafor alone could average 30 plus points a game as the season winds down.

But to be fair, Ben Simmons is a perfect compliment to Dario Saric.  He also gives the Philadelphia 76ers a great bookend of potential elites when he takes the floor with Joel Embiid as well.

But most of all, the Philadelphia 76ers are flirting with a commitment to a lineup which could be as innovative as the small ball version so much in vogue right now.  We at the Sixers Sense call it “Tall Ball”, and we’ve flirted with it for months.  From the moment the Philadelphia 76ers had the opportunity to select Ben Simmons, the possibility has emerged as a direction the team could take.

"“I hope that the length, and as you just said, how tall we are, is well balanced. I think with Joel Embiid or Jahlil or Nerlens, you know Ben Simmons, Richaun Holmes, you keep going. I just said a bunch of 7-footers, or, you know 6-10 and up. But I think they’re all different. You know, every one of those players I just said, are different. You’ve got to get some balance in the backcourt a point guard that can shoot the ball and people that can help that big group I just said spread the floor.” -head coach Brett Brown"

Spread the floor.  Set a fast pace.  Pass the ball to the open player.

Let’s chat about that for a minute, shall we?

Next: Hail Mary Basketball

Hail Mary Basketball

It’s common in football. It is something that may soon be more common in basketball, and it may be a result of the Philadelphia 76ers “royal flush” lineup.

The potential of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball is the incredible upside of the projected lineup for transition basketball.  In a transition offense, plays are begun by a steal or an opponent turnover,  which are quickly moved via pass to the opposite end of the basketball court where the offense outmans the opponent on either an open man, a two on one, or three on two shooting opportunity.  That type of offense is officially tracked as a fast break, but it can occur whenever a defense is caught off guard.

With a team of tall players, fast breaks needn’t rely upon a steal or turnover.   A rebound can act as the catalyst when the 76ers have Saric and Simmons on the basketball court.  Either player can pull down rebounds, pass the ball coast to coast to an open man, and set up the 76ers offense for an easy layup.

If the perception about center Jahlil Okafor is absolutely true, that he is a trainwreck whenever trying to defend under the basket, then he could be set to defend the perimeter exclusively, and as soon as the Sixers come down with a defensive rebound, could break for the basket for an easy layup.

Just a thought , but with this lineup it could certainly be one of several options.  I mean, if the team is ready to trade their top offensive scorer due to the lack of blocked shots, then it must be a valid concern.  But discussion seems to be working so far.  Let’s chat some more, okay?

Next: Rim Protection or Excuses?

Rim Protection or Excuses?

The reason so many wish to trade Jahlil Okafor is, because he did not deliver in all areas in his 53 games played his rookie season.  Subsequently, he has been categorized as an offensive post center and that is all he will ever be in the NBA.  These are valid concerns, to a point.

Blue Man Hoop

But when I continue to read about the concerns about the lack of a “rim protector” if the team plays Jahlil Okafor at the center position, it causes questions.  That was enough to send me researching the matter.  Who protected the rim in the 2016 NBA Championship series?

The top shot blocker for the Golden State Warriors was power forward Draymond Green at 1.78 blocks per game.  Warrior center Andrew Bogut came in second with 1.59 blocks per game. Green finished his fourth NBA season.  In his first year, he generated .3 blocks per game while appearing in 79 games.  Bogut finished his 11th NBA season.  In his rookie season, he played 82 games, and averaged .8 blocks per game.

Not to leave it at that, I turned to a more conventional lineup of the Cleveland Cavaliers.  The Cavs were led by shooting guard Dahntay Jones, with 2.0 blocks per game.  Center Timofey Mozgov came in second place for the Cavaliers with just .8 blocks per game.

Just for the record, Jahlil Okafor played just 53 games, had a starting caliber point guard for just 26 games, moved out to play power forward in some of those 53 games, and ended the season with 1.15 blocks per game.   In his rookie season, despite the quality of the team around him, Jahlil Okafor ended up 16th among NBA centers in blocked shots per game.

In any poker hand, no single card in a straight flush has intrinsic value until the other cards end up in the hand.   Much of the value of a Jahlil Okafor type center in a Brown offense just got off the bus:  Simmons to set the pace and pass, Saric, Luwawu-Cabarrot, and to an extent, even Joel Embiid, to set up proper spacing and take the shots whenever open.

It would be unwise to discard any of our players when it seems we just placed a royal flush into our hands.

Next: Bench Built Solid

Bench Built Solid

As we focus on building a championship team, we need to break some old habits.  We are looking at the team moves  in a framework of a starting five players.  As we’ve projected what the team needed to do this off-season, who we needed to target, what we’ve done, many judged each move in terms of “can this player start and lead the league in their position this season?”

The answer in each case has been “no, they cannot”.

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But let’s step back for a minute.  If the team is truly investing in a championship build, and if the team has the projected championship roster (or at least the makings of one) on board now, what is left to put into place?   Three things:  quality depth, veteran leadership, and championship experience.

But the 76ers added a new wrinkle to the equation.  They needed to find back court depth which could run the point guard as Ben Simmons acclimates to the NBA, but also have that player off-the-ball as Simmons steps into his proposed point guard role.

To that end, the Philadelphia 76ers did incredibly well.

But the formation of the starters of this team automatically bolster the bench play.  If the team assigns starters as Okafor, Embiid, Saric, Luwawu, and Simmons, all other players are coming off the bench.  That will include Nerlens Noel, Jerami Grant, T.J. McConnell, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless, Gerald Henderson, Sergio Rodriguez, Hollis Thompson, Richaun Holmes, and Carl Landry.  As of right now, that could change as the team will weigh the play of Nik Stauskas, Christian Wood, Kendall Marshall, and perhaps even James Webb III.

But as players earn their way to the starting lineup, good players will be forced to the bench.  Quality players who are already being heralded in the NBA for their achievements last season, with more experience are facing the bench players of other teams this season.

Next: Saric Seals the Flush

Saric Seals the Flush

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Philadelphia 76ers have improved: both this season and well into the future.  But in the same breath, the quality of this team is hinged upon an “all or nothing” off-season.  For three years, the Philadelphia 76ers were austere, exchanging players, cap space, and present day draft picks for future players and picks.

With Embiid and Simmons now about to play for this team, it was already a very good off-season.  Dario Saric completes the team, the 2016 stage of the process, the royal flush. Why am I so upbeat on the guy who has yet to set foot onto an NBA court?

I. He Fills A Huge Need.

The Philadelphia 76ers need shooters.  Dario Saric is a very good shooter.  He shot 55.2 percent from the floor, including better than 40 percent from three-point range.  he even completed 93.7 percent from the foul line.

On an average of 22.4 minutes per game, Saric scored 11.7 points per game, hauled in 5.8 rebounds per game, dished out 1.5 assists per game, and caused .5 blocks and .5 steals per game.

II. He Is Versatile Enough To Play All Five Positions.

He is incredibly versatile.  With his well rounded game, he can produce from virtually anywhere on the basketball court.  We already have known that Saric can play the center, power forward, or small forward roles.  But some analysts believe he could translate his ball handling and shooting all the way to shooting guard or even point guard in an emergency.

Brett Brown has proven to be one of the most resourceful NBA coaches, particularly when he was handed a roster with no point guard on it last season.

With Saric, Brown adds one more player who can slot in at multiple positions.  That gives him an advantage, one that other successful coaches have exploited on their own rosters.

Next: From Olympics to 76ers

From Olympics to 76ers

III. He Has Incredible Momentum Coming Off Earning Olympic Spot For Croatian Team.

He was a key player for the Croatian national team in the Olympic qualifying rounds, and he came up big.  But his biggest spotlight was leading the team to a tough road win against Italy.

This is a player who could have stayed overseas for more money – millions more.  He could have stayed overseas for national pride and remained to practice for the Olympics. But Dario Saric is a young man whose word means more than anything else.

IV. He Is A Man Of His Word

Dario Saric has never wavered on his commitment to come to the Philadelphia 76ers  His father never wavered on his son’s commitment.  But the story of Dario Saric’s arrival this season never quite fit the NBA narrative that nobody wanted to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, so they wrote alternative outcomes for the story.

Dario Saric had ever reason in the world to delay his arrival, but he stayed true to his word.  Playing for the Philadelphia 76ers is worth that much to the young man.  That blows the stock narrative out of the water, the discounted perception of playing in Philadelphia has been debunked by Dario.

This is a proud basketball family showing that Philadelphia remains a marquis landmark of basketball excellence.  It’s this type of reputation reinforcement which is truly vital to the team, and to the city.

Next: Ben Simmons Must Be More Aggressive

This off-season was orchestrated years ago during the 2014 NBA Draft.  It’s no exaggeration to say that the team has played with two red-shirt players  for two seasons, who now join the 2016-2017 squad as rookies.  The team is not a champion yet. But the cards are now in place.

Development of the players and the team is now in the hands of head coach Brett Brown and his staff.   Playing the hand dealt to the team is now up to the team.  But you cannot argue the excitement of the fans seeing these players for the 2016-2017 season.

A royal flush is a rare hand.  But when you get it, you know you will win the pot.