Philadelphia 76ers’ bench experiencing addition by subtraction
The Philadelphia 76ers lost some bench firepower, but compared to last season, their second unit should be far better.
Almost every team will experience addition by subtraction at some point. When you remove a negative, the results are naturally positive. Things become problematic when teams don’t successfully recognize negatives.
The Wolves were substantially better without Jamal Crawford last season — on both sides of the ball. Yet Tom Thibodeau, being the veteran-centric, old-fashioned coach he is, gave the former Sixth Man of the Year 20 minutes every night.
The same can be said for the Pacers and Lance Stephenson. As entertaining as Born Ready is, he’s not a good NBA player. Giving him playmaking duties in the second unit might have been Indiana’s biggest regret.
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Now both players are gone, improving the Wolves and Pacers’ outlook heading into next season. Lance’s ill-effects might be offset by LeBron James in L.A., but Crawford doesn’t project well in any NBA system. Hopefully the Sixers avoid him.
Next season, the Philadelphia 76ers will benefit greatly from the concept of addition by subtraction. Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala and Markelle Fultz are solid additions, but their biggest gains were the players they lost.
The Sixers had one of the weakest benches in the league for most of last season. That’s because, up until the buyout deadline, their bench was littered with severe negatives.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot played 807 minutes over 52 games. Jerryd Bayless played 925 minutes over 39 games. Trevor Booker played 494 minutes over 33 games, mostly out of position. The Sixers were giving minutes to players who actively hurt them.
Per Cleaning The Glass, the Sixers were 5.6 points per 100 possessions better with TLC on the bench. That number increased to 9.3 for Bayless and 7.9 for Booker. Bayless and TLC tanked their numbers early in the season, while Booker piled on late.
That’s why the Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova signings were so impactful — not because Belinelli and Ilyasova were world-beating talents who sparked 16 straight wins.
Then, in the postseason, Belinelli’s defensive ineptitude was exploited. His shooting and off-ball movement was a hand-in-glove fit with Brett Brown’s system, but his defense was not. Boston grilled him relentlessly, hunting switches and using their athletic shot-creators to tear Philly apart.
Simply put, the Sixers’ bench featured some pressing weaknesses throughout the 2017-18 campaign. Those weaknesses will be mitigated next season.
Is the second unit, as currently constructed, one of the best in the league? Probably not. We still don’t know where Fultz stands, while Belinelli and Ilyasova were undeniably beneficial on offense. Wilson Chandler can’t replicate that production.
With that said, the second unit is substantially better on defense. Chandler, Fultz and Smith will anchor a versatile group that can switch around the perimeter and defend Boston’s wing-heavy group come May.
Amir Johnson and Mike Muscala are serviceable bigs as well, with the latter being capable of filling Ilyasova’s void on both ends. If Fultz becomes a more dependable halfcourt scorer, that should offset the loss of Belinelli’s shooting presence.
dark. Next. How can the Sixers overtake the Celtics?
By avoiding long stretches of Bayless/TLC/Booker and reinforcing the defense, the Sixers’ second unit will perform much better next season. That’s one less weaknesses to be exploited early (and late) in the year.