Philadelphia 76ers could have a 12-man rotation to begin the season

The Philadelphia 76ers have so much depth entering this season that if they want, they could have a 12-man rotation most nights.

Compared to the end of last season, the Philadelphia 76ers bench has improved significantly this summer. Head Coach Brett Brown struggled at times last season to find his starters quality rest with the shallow bench. Heading into this upcoming season, Brown could theoretically have a 12-man rotation with the newly added depth.

Towards the end of last season and into the playoffs, the Sixers really only had two playable bench players in Mike Scott and James Ennis. Boban Marjanovic and Greg Monroe could be plugged in at the center spot, but both were too much of a liability on defense. T.J. McConnell was also a liability on both ends of the floor despite the amount of grit he played with. General manager Elton Brand made sure to cover up those weaknesses for this upcoming season.

Scott and Ennis were brought back, which is was a smart move by the front office, but they didn’t stop there. Brand made the two biggest upgrades at the center and point guard spots, while also improving the wing depth as well.

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The two main additions at the center spot were Al Horford and Kyle O’Quinn. Horford is likely starting at power forward, but is expected to see a lot of time in the second unit as the center when Joel Embiid comes off the court and Scott comes in.

When Horford and Embiid aren’t on the court O’Quinn will have to step in at center, which is something he’s very capable of doing. In the past, I wrote about how there’s a chance that O’Quinn could see minutes most nights in an effort to preserve both Embiid and Horford for the postseason.

The Sixers added both Trey Burke and Raul Neto to upgrade the point guard spot. Granted both are still a liability on the defensive end like McConnell, but they are both are upgrades on offense, as both are reliable 3-point shooters.

Each brings their own unique skill set to the team with Neto being more of a pick-and-role player, whereas Burke can create his own offense. There’s a chance that throughout the game Brown could be shuffling the two guards in and out of the lineup based on what the team needs.

Besides Ennis, the Sixers have Zhaire Smith and Matisse Thybulle who both could see time on the wing coming off the bench. Smith is a second year player who’s oozing potential and even though Thybulle is a rookie, he already looks to be a NBA ready 3-and-D player. Based on lineups and matches both could see playing time in the flow of a game.

Obviously, the Sixers shouldn’t have a 12-man rotation for a full season or in the playoffs. That won’t be sustainable, because it could hurt the chemistry of the lineups and the flow of the game. However, its a real possibility that it could be something that Philly could experience to begin the season. Brown’s been known to experiment with lineups in the past, so it’s entirely possible that he does it with these new players this season.

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Especially early on in the upcoming season, Brown could experiment with his new found depth and have a 12-man rotation, that means seven players coming off the bench some games. Hopefully, for the sake of the Philadelphia 76ers, Brown can figure out his rotation not too deep into the season.