Philadelphia 76ers still have center depth problems in these playoffs
The Philadelphia 76ers have dominated this first round matchup against the Washington Wizards. It took Joel Embiid getting injured, Ben Simmons playing limited minutes due to foul trouble, and Tobias Harris having one of his worst games of this year for Washington to win Game 4. This is especially true now that Embiid has been diagnosed with a small meniscus tear, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Sixers are hitting on all cylinders in this series, with exception of Game 4, however, this series has proven yet again that the Sixers still have a major issue that has plagued the team during the Embiid era. The Sixers still don’t have the quality depth behind their injured MVP level big man.
Don’t be mistaken, during the regular season, Dwight Howard has done one of the best jobs backuping up Embiid for his career. However, that hasn’t been the case during the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers still don’t have enough center depth.
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Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense wrote about Howard’s struggles in the playoff earlier in this series and it hasn’t gotten better for the future Hall of Famer. He’s averaging 4.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.5 fouls in 16.0 minutes. He’s also shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor, which is career low for the postseason. It’s clear that Howard has struggled against the trio of Wizards centers in Robin Lopez, Alex Len, and Daniel Gafford.
Mike Scott is in his swan song and isn’t proving to provide any value for the 76ers during this series. Not to mention he’s not a center, especially at 6-foot-8. Head coach Doc Rivers won’t play rookie big man Paul Reed and did so sparingly during the season.
Prior to the traded deadline, they had adequate center depth with Tony Bradley on the roster. Philly made the right move by trading him, Terrance Ferguson, Vincent Poirier, and multiple second round picks for George Hill. However, that left the sixers vulnerable at the center.
Next. Maxey should be starting in Embiid’s place. dark
It’s something that the Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers will have to adjust to as it’s becoming clear that there will be certain matchups that doesn’t favor Howard, as Kline also wrote in his article. However, it’s something that the front office will need to fix this offseason as well.