Philadelphia 76ers: 4 replacements for Ben Simmons in the starting 5
Sixers stater replacement for Ben Simmons: Al Horford
Christopher Kline Co-Site Expert of The Sixer Sense indicated in a previous article that center Al Horford could replace Simmons as a stater. Kline had this to say about Horford.
"“Al Horford is the likely candidate to replace Simmons in the starting five. While Brown has effectively avoided any and all use of the Simmons–Horford–Embiid trio, the latter two have spent ample time together on the court so far in Orlando. Horford still moves fairly well on the perimeter, and he’s enough of a spacer offensively to work next to Embiid as long as Simmons is not available. While his reintroduction to the starting five isn’t the most tantalizing proposition, it’s probably the most logical.”"
Kline hit it right on the head with his analysis, although I believe it should be noted that Horford’s lost a step on defense and could struggle defender more athletic power forwards if re-inserted into the starting five. However, like Kline wrote it makes the most sense, especially considering the big contract that Philly paid him this past offseason.
Kline also mentioned Mattisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz, and Glenn Robinson III as other possibilities but failed to go in-depth about what they bring to the starting lineup. Starting any of these three wings would also allow Tobias Harris to slide back down to his natural position of power forward which won’t happen when Simmons or Horford are starting next to Joel Embiid.
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Sixers stater replacement for Ben Simmons: Matisse Thybulle
Matisse Thybulle is the one player on the roster that can somewhat replicate what Simmons can do defensively. While Thybulle can’t defend all five positions like Simmons, he’s certainly a versatile defender that has active hands like Simmons. He’s also a better/more willing floor spacer than Simons is too.
The downside with Thybulle is he’s not the playmaker that Simmons is and he’s not a consistent threat on offense as he’s only averaged 4.6 points on 35.1 percent shooting from deep. He’s gone through cold spells throughout the season when it comes to his 3-point shooting and with Embiid set to be the focal point on offense, that could be a problem.