Small-ball has been the name of the game for the Philadelphia 76ers for quite some time now. With the front office struggling to find the perfect partner in the frontcourt to Joel Embiid, the coaching staff, dating back to when Doc Rivers was still here, has inculcated small lineups into the very DNA of this franchise.
That stands to persist and continue this season. The 76ers, still not having a clear-cut answer at power forward (and really, not having a starting caliber four-man), will probably go through a revolving door of nominal forwards to start games. In fact, Nick Nurse seem to have already accepted that genetic make-up with his interesting plan to double down on playing small.
Nurse has floated the idea of playing three-guard lineups and opening games with that kind of configuration, which admittedly makes sense for the 76ers given their strength in the backcourt. Jared McCain’s injury has dampened that a little bit, but there remains no doubt that the team has one of the most well-rounded backcourt rotations in the league.
However, resorting to that does not only serve to maximize their unerring edge over most ball clubs. The truth of the matter is that it will always have some serious consequences, and the particular concession that could ensue is something that can doom the squad this season.
Rebounding woes could get even worse for the 76ers this season
Last season, Philadelphia ended the campaign being the worst rebounding team in the league, and it was not even close. The 76ers, lacking size on a nightly basis, were outmuscled and outrebounded constantly, which made their already meager defense even worse.
If Nurse and his staff pushes through with this plan, they will have to accept that they will be losing big-time on the rebounding department each game. That also means that they will need to double down on accelerating their improvement on defense as a collective, which turned out to be another major weakness of this group last season.
Full-on offense rarely works in the NBA. In fact, even the offensive-minded Indiana Pacers last season cranked their team defense up by a lot when they started getting closer to the playoffs. The 76ers will have to do the same, although it will definitely be a tall task given their guard and wing-heavy roster construction.
Fortunately, the 76ers have a good mix of athleticism and experience on their roster — two things that elevate a team’s floor and ceiling on defense. Hopefully, both the coaching staff and the players can manage to adapt to their disadvantaged personnel on the glass in the upcoming regular season.