There’s nothing for certain regarding the Philadelphia 76ers now that Joel Embiid is dealing with a torn meniscus. Sixers’ head coach Doc Rivers hasn’t even ruled out Embiid of Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.
I’ve voiced my opinion that Embiid should go ahead and get surgery on the most recent episode of The Sixer Sense podcast, but it appears he’s going to try to play through it when he is allowed to. Until he does, the 76ers coaching staff will have to adjust their plans without their superstar big man in their rotations. There are at least three changes that the team has to make entering this second round series.
3 adjustments they’ll have to make without Embiid: More Dwight Howard minutes
Throughout his first season with the Philadelphia 76ers, the matra around Dwight Howard has been “less is more”. This essentially means that when Howard has played excessive minutes, it hasn’t produced great results. In games when Howard has played 20 or more minutes during the regular season, the Sixers are 11-9 which isn’t bad, but not title-contending which is the point of this season.
“During the postseason, Simmons and Howard were a minus-5.0 per 100 Possessions.”
However, with Embiid injured and who the 76ers are going to face in Hawks, the need for more Howard minutes has never been higher this season. Atlanta has one of the dominant defensive and rebounding centers in the NBA with Clint Capela, who is 6-foo-10 and 240 lbs.
During the postseason, Capela has 10.0 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks, while making 66.7 percent from the floor. 3.0 of those rebounds were offensive and he’s averaged that number against a solid big man tandem of Taj Gibson and Nerlens Noel. Howard is the only true center on the roster now, and Capela could take advantage of Ben Simmons and especially Mike Scott on the boards, so there’s a need for more Howard minutes against Capela.
That doesn’t mean that Howard should start. Philly has a record of 1-5 with Howard starting and it’s because he and Simmons can’t play together for long stretches. During the postseason, Simmons and Howard were a minus-5.0 per 100 possessions. However, if Simmons can’t play Capela off the floor as the starting center, then Howard will need to play more, even if that means he and Simmons share the floor.
3 adjustments they’ll have to make without Embiid: Start Tyrese Maxey
Howard shouldn’t start, but it’s clear that Tyrese Maxey should be the fifth starter in Embiid’s place. I wrote about it in the past, but I didn’t do a good enough job in that article explaining why he makes the most sense as a starter.
He didn’t start Game 5 against the Washington Wizards but he ended the game and was the fourth most important player that game. In 26 minutes, he finished with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while going 6-14 from the field. He was also a plus-14 which the second highest on the team behind Simmons.
He and Simmons also work as a duo for the Sixers. Per 100 Possession, Maxey and Simmons are a plus-18.8 this postseason. When Maxey is with the rest of the starters minus Embiid, that group is a plus-21.1 per 100 Possession in the playoffs.
Spacing won’t be an issue for having Maxey in the starting five. He’s shooting 40.0 percent on 3-pointers this postseason. Having two dynamic playmakers like Simmons and Maxey who can play off each other will certainly help against a solid defense as the Hawks have had in this postseason.
As I said in the most recent episode of The Sixer Sense Podcast, I believe Maxey should be a starter next season, and having him start in the postseason now is a good starting point for him.
3 adjustments they’ll have to make without Embiid: Seth Curry needs to be a focal point
Game 5 against the Wizards taught the Philadelphia 76ers one thing. If they are going to win a postseason game, they will need Seth Curry to play like his older player, Stephen Curry. In that Game 5, Curry had 30 points, two assists, two turnovers, and three fouls. He shot 11-17 from the field, 3-6 from the 3-point line, and 7-7 from the foul line.
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I previously wrote on why Curry was important to the 76ers playoff success, but that was before Embiid’s injury. As one could imagine, this is even more true now and the coaching staff will have to make sure to make him a primary scoring option in the flow of the offense.
Sure, Maxey getting into the starting five will allow Philly to have another creator in the half court and Howard playing more minutes will help anchor the interior defense even more so. However, against a high scoring team like the Hawks, Curry will have to play some of the best basketball of his career.
Simmons isn’t going to be a 20-plus point scorer for this whole series, that’s not who he is and fans can’t expect him to be that. Tobias Harris has been the team’s second leading scorer this season and has stepped it up in the playoffs thus far, but he will have a tough matchup against John Collins and can’t do it all on his own.
Curry will have to be aggressive hunting his shot and will have to play like he’s one of the best scorers on the court. Obviously, that won’t be the case as Trae Young will be on the court, but Curry will have to try his best to match his aggressiveness to Young’s. If he doesn’t, then the 76ers don’t have a high percentage of winning any games in this series without Embiid.
The Sixers’ coaching staff has to make adjustments for when Embiid can’t play in this second round series against the Hawks. If Howard plays more minutes, Maxey starts, and Curry is made one of the focal points on offense, then the 76ers should be able to win this series without Embiid playing every single game.