Philadelphia 76ers forged Philly tough through adversity
By Bret Stuter
Bench build seals the deal
The final pieces to this team arrived very late in the season. The Philadelphia 76ers bench before the trade deadline was underpowered. Nobody on the bench contributed better than 10 points per game or better. The best perimeter shooting was Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot at 33.5 percent. Trevor Booker simply did not deliver.
All in all, the 76ers bench was very concerning. But late season signings of Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova landed two good scorers at just the right time. Then the team unveiled a now healthy Markelle Fultz to facilitate that bench scoring. The mix immediately found good team chemistry.
No quit and all fit
So how did they fit with this team? Ersan Ilyasova contributed to the Sixers in the 2016-2017 season. And Marco Belinelli shares a common experience with head coach Brett Brown as a former San Antonio Spurs player. In post season, Belinelli is averaging 16.6 points per game. Similarly, Ersan Ilyasova is averaging 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Both players are coming off the bench with those numbers. And both have good off-ball instincts too.
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But the addition of new scorers gives Brown so many options. He now has a defensive lineup, a speed lineup, an offensive lineup, and a tall ball lineup. With so many viable lineup options, the team now can counter whatever lineup they face in any given game. Ilyasova, Belinelli, and even veteran J.J. Redick sought the Philadelphia 76ers team as one with playoff potential. It’s clear in the way the Philadelphia 76ers have played that this team is selfless and focused on team victories. While there are no guarantees, two things are certain. This Philadelphia 76ers team will not be intimidated by any opponent. Secondly, this team gets better with each contest.