Philadelphia 76ers have elite 2017 small ball roster

By Bret Stuter | Sep 10, 2017

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 23: The Philadelphia 76ers host a post draft press conference announcing new players Anzejs Pasecniks, Markelle Fultz, Jonah Bolden and Mathias Lessort at the Sixers Training Complex on June 23, 2017 in Camden, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images) /

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OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 27: Carl Landry /

Small by necessity

Let’s not kid ourselves. The Philadelphia 76ers did not experiment with small ball out of curiosity, nor out of optimizing the number of wins in a season. It came down to pure, unadulterated necessity.

The 2015-2016 team did not have the luxury of having seen center Joel Embiid, and center Jahlil Okafor was lost to the team after 53 games. So the team had to “improvise”.

I.E. the team went small.

But let’s look at the team in the 2017 version?

2017 version of small ball

PG – Fultz/Bayless
SG – Redick
SF– Luwawu-Cabarrot
PF – Covington
C – Simmons

I’ve omitted Dario Saric, Jahlil Okafor, T.J. McConnell, Nik Stauskas, and Richaun Holmes purposefully. While they could pose a role in a small ball lineup (see Okafor in November 2015), the team’s goal of rapid ball movement, quick players, and shooting from the three-point line aims the roster sights on the named players.

While this squad has yet to play a single NBA minute together, it’s certainly a dangerous line-up!