The Philadelphia 76ers need everyone to step up following the injuries to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
Ben Simmons’ back is hurt, Joel Embiid’s shoulder is gone, and the whole entire fanbase is freaking out. However, this is really an opportunity for Brett Brown and the other players to rally and nail down their weaknesses.
Brett Brown has had an entire season to experiment with rotations and it’s still not clear who he will choose to keep in the starting rotation. This is really where certain players such as Tobias Harris and Al Horford step up, and others such as Glenn Robinson III, Furkan Korkmaz, and Matisse Thybulle get time. This next stretch is where the Philadelphia 76ers‘ second units learn to play stronger than that of the Bucks or the Heat.
It also is a big deal for team leadership. This is where the coach has to be the one to rally the rest of team and unite them to win games moving forward. With Glenn Robinson already vocalizing that he is unsure of his role, that’s not a great look on Brett Brown. But with only 24 games remaining, this is really where the Sixers finalize the second unit, IF Embiid and Simmons are to return by playoff time.
How Brown handles this adversity moving into the playoffs will determine how fans will feel about the coach’s future.
Can Tobias step up?
Tobias Harris’s five-year, $180 million dollar contract might be one of the most ridiculous contracts in NBA history when you look at the sheer inconsistency of his stats. If you look at Tobais Harris’s past nine games (prior to the Feb. 26 game v.s. Cleveland), you’ll notice Tobias had a high of 25 points versus both Milwaukee and Atlanta, but a low of six against Miami.
The three-point percentage overall looks fine at 36.2 percent, but its too inconsistent — 0-for-6 at Miami, 5-for-6 at Milwaukee, then 1-for-6 vs L.A. The Sixers won the game against L.A., so it doesn’t matter right? Wrong — that win was primarily because of how strong Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid played together.
How long can Tobias perform like a role player and expect the two younger stars to spearhead the wins? It’s not his fault he got the contract, but clearly, Elton Brand banked on the hope of Tobias’ shooting. If Ben Simmons’ absence is theoretically supposed to help with floor spacing, well Tobias should be able to step up. This might save Brett Brown’s job, because if Tobias gets his shooting back to how it looked like when he was on the Clippers, his production with Embiid and Simmons on the bench may prove to help in playoff time.
Ultimately, the Sixers will miss Simmons’ defense and aggressiveness while he is out. They will miss Embiid’s presence in the paint and energy on the court. But every adversity presents an opportunity. This is an opportunity to iron out the questions marks we’ve had with the bench and the “other stars”.