Philadelphia 76ers: 5 most important bench pieces, ranked

The Philadelphia 76ers’ second unit has reached its strongest point since Brett Brown took over.

Last season, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ championship pursuit was partially undone by a dreadful second unit. James Ennis and Mike Scott were the only reserves remotely capable of playing net-neutral basketball in a playoff game.

When the Sixers went to Greg Monroe for under two minutes in Game 7 against Toronto, they were outscored by double digits. For the past three seasons, Joel Embiid‘s rest has often coincided with a sharp drop in quality on the court. It has been Philadelphia’s foremost issue.

Elton Brand has made adjustments this summer. The Sixers reworked the starting five and bench, re-signing both Ennis and Scott before adding a few potential contributors. A healthy Zhaire Smith and Matisse Thybulle will also compete for minutes.

While the Sixers’ end goal lies heavily on Embiid and the starting five’s shoulders, a better second unit should help Philadelphia quite a bit — especially in the regular season. Brown being able to dip into the second unit without risk of total embarrassment is key.

The rotations aren’t set in stone yet, but we have a good idea of who Brown will lean on first. Here are the Sixers’ five most important bench pieces entering 2019-20.