Can Philadelphia 76ers Optimize Power Forward?

After a season of using the power forward to slot the extra center, the Philadelphia 76ers have about eight options for the power forward position this year. Can they optimize the position?

It’s like a who’s who of top NBA talent on the Philadelphia 76ers: Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Carl Landry, Richaun Holmes, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, and Jerami Grant. Each player could line up at the power forward position on any given night. The problem is, who should line up there? Can the Philadelphia 76ers optimize their power forward role?

Before we start shoving names into the discussion, let’s define what the position is, and then what we want it to be under Brett Brown?

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The Power Forward (PF), also known as the four, often plays a role similar to that of the center, down in the “post” or “low blocks”. On offense, the power forward is often the team’s most versatile scorer, being able to score close to the basket while also being able to shoot mid-range jump shots from 12 to 18 feet from the basket. Some power forwards, known as stretch fours, have since extended their shooting range to three-point field goals.

On defense, they are required to have the strength to guard bigger players close to the basket, and to have athleticism to guard quick players away from the basket. Most power forwards tend to be more versatile than centers since they can be part of plays and are not always in the low block. In the NBA, power forwards usually range from 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) to 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m).

Power forwards must contribute: rebounds, defense and shot blocking, shooting, and physicality. In fact, I have a video for you to check out:

Seems simple enough?  Well it’s simple if you have the right players.   In the system under head coach Brett Brown, he is seeking the David Robinson / Tim Duncan twin towers effect.   Why twin towers?  In that scheme, pairing two defensive players to patrol higher percentage shots near the basket forces opponents to shoot further away, in the lower percentage shot ranges.  Combinded, the pair averaged over five blocks a game, and pulled down over 20 rebounds per game.

But it is not exclusively defense at the post that wins the games.  Games are won by offense as well, and both Robinson and Duncan combined on average for nearly 38 points per game.   Who in this roster can pair up to those numbers?

Since Brett Brown is most familiar with Popovich’s schemes, and since he’s sitting on a bevy of big bodies, which player slots most favorably to the power forward role like Tim Duncan?

Well it seems that Tim Duncan has caused a great deal of inspiration for the big men of the Philadelphia 76ers.  Joel Embiid wears number 21 in Tim Duncan’s honor, while Jahlil Okafor admitted that he has tried to model his career after Duncan’s.

But with the words of inspiration aside, is there truly a power forward of Duncan’s ilk on the team?  To truly key in, we need to look at the per 36 minutes stats.  Nerlens Noel had the 2.2 blocks and 9.5 rebounds to fall close defensively, while Jahlil Okafor had the 21.0 points per game to fall close.  But in the end, we have Joel Embiid as well, a player who is expected to combine Okafor’s offense and Noel’s defense into one embodiment. Can he play the role?

Well, before we rush off too quickly, let’s double back to Jahlil Okafor for a second.  His 21.0 points per 36 exceeds Duncan’s 19.4 points per 36, while 8.4 rebounds per 36 falls short of 11.0 rebounds per 36 while Okafor’s blocks of 1.4 per 36 fall short of Duncan’s 2.3 blocks per 36.

While they are not an exact match, they are close.  Now layer the impact of Dario Saric or Ben Simmons?  Simmons is about assists, rebounds, and elevating play around him.   While he is a risk to put up a triple double on any given night, his forte’ is not quite the Brown scheme for a power forward.

Dario Saric, however, may offer some intriguing qualities.  His per 36 minutes stats end up at 18.8 points per 36 (Duncan was 19.4), 9.2 rebounds per 36 (Duncan was 11.0), 2.3 assists per 36 (Duncan was 2.5), and .7 blocks per 36 (Duncan had 2.3). Saric shot 50 percent from the floor (Duncan was 54.9 percent).

So Saric may work there as well.

Last season, the veterans Elton Brand and Carl Landry showed how valuable solid play at the four could prove to be in the Philadelphia 76ers scheme.  In fact, it was Landry’s constant contributions which proved time and time again that the team needed to address the position.

But have they?

Next: Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid Are The Stars Philly Needs

With so much talent on the roster, it won’t be another season of Center A/ Center B this year.  In fact, the pre-season will likely be packed with lineup moves designed to give feedback for which player at which position among which teammates truly maxes out this team’s potential.

Gregg Popovich dealt future hall-of-famer Dennis Rodman to the Chicago Bulls because he did not fit what “Pop” wanted to build in San Antonio. The Philadelphia 76ers are in the process of discovering their identity and mapping the players who will fit that identity.  Once that happens, the team may make a similar move to remain true to themselves.  Power Forward is a key role to make the Philadelphia 76ers relative, and so, the team must find a way to optimize the position.