Backup bigs shine in Philadelphia 76ers preseason
Joel Embiid‘s health constantly concerns the Philadelphia 76ers. The backup bigs’ preseason performances should give fans some comfort in Embiid’s absence.
There’s no question that when he was on the floor, Joel Embiid was one of the best centers in the NBA last season. He played a maximum of 26 minutes in just 31 games, but he dominated no matter where he stood on the floor. As he recovers from a knee injury sustained around the All-Star break, Philadelphia 76ers fans should feel somewhat confident in the big men coming off the bench during the Cameroonian’s absence. This is not to say that Jahlil Okafor, Richaun Holmes, and Amir Johnson are going to totally compensate for Embiid while he sits out, but the three each offer the team something different at the five.
In terms of play style, Richaun Holmes compares best to Joel Embiid, except Richaun Holmes is the impoverished man’s version of Embiid. Holmes is strong as an ox, a solid defender, and can spread the floor. He flies under the radar enough so that his defender will not chase him out to the three-point line, but he knocks down threes at a respectable rate. His percentage jumped from 18.2 in his rookie year to 35.1 last season.
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In the Sixers’ first preseason game on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies, the Bowling Green product stuffed the stat sheet, ending the game with nine points, three rebounds, and three blocks in just 17 minutes while shooting 50 percent from the field. Unfortunately, those three blocks came at a price: he committed five personal fouls in that short amount of playing time. Since he’s the 76ers’ best interior defender aside from Embiid, he has to become
In the Sixers’ first preseason game on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies, the Bowling Green product stuffed the stat sheet, ending the game with nine points, three rebounds, and three blocks in just 17 minutes while shooting 50 percent from the field. Unfortunately, those three blocks came at a price: he committed five personal fouls in that short amount of playing time. Since he’s the 76ers’ best interior defender aside from Embiid, he has to become more disciplined, especially if the 7-foot-2 superstar misses the start of the season.
Jahlil Okafor has been another bright spot in the paint during the Philadelphia 76ers preseason. Going vegan and slimming down have clearly helped the 2015 third-overall pick. He looked much more mobile in the Blue x White scrimmage than he has looked in past seasons, and he really shined in the preseason game against the Grizzlies. He finished that game with 13 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and 5/6 shooting from the field in just 19 minutes.
The interior version of present-day Carmelo Anthony describes Okafor pretty well. He slows the game down when he gets the ball, lacks athleticism, but is still a killer in a one-on-one isolation situation. When playing with weaker offensive players, Okafor tends to draw double teams from opponents. He hasn’t shown much improvement on kicking the ball out to the perimeter when blanketed by multiple defenders, but if he can improve on that before the season, his playing time and trade value will rise even further than it has already.
Amir Johnson is clearly a wise veteran. He didn’t play in the game against the Grizzlies, but he made a bunch of great plays in the Blue x White game. The ex-Celtic showed explosiveness for a 6-foot-9, 240 pound, 30-year-old center, and he got to the rim easily on a few occasions in half-court sets. He also showed his ability and intelligence when it comes to running in transition, which should make any Sixers fans who were doubtful of this acquisition start to believe in him. The transition is going to be an even bigger part of the Sixers offense than it was last year, and Johnson showing his aptitude in that department is quite encouraging.
Philadelphia 76ers fans would obviously prefer to have a healthy Embiid ahead of these three in the rotation, but these bigs still give Brett Brown flexibility. If Brown can rotate them well and keep opponents on their toes, Philly will make opposing coaches constantly make adjustments in the interior during games, which will lead the Sixers to capitalize on those constant changes.
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With great slashers and interior players like Ben Simmons, Okafor, Markelle Fultz, T.J. McConnell, Robert Covington, and Dario Saric, the Sixers will crucially impact their opponent’s center if they rotate those three bigs effectively. The team will still miss Embiid, but if Okafor, Johnson, and Holmes play well, and if Brown spots their minutes effectively, then the Sixers could still get some wins without their best player.