Bench scoring has been a persistent issue for the Philadelphia 76ers. As they almost always have a top-heavy squad, having numerous players who can comfortably register points off the second unit has become an elusive undertaking for the front office. That remains to be the case for them, as they deploy one of the least productive bench squads in the league.
This season, the 76ers average just 30.3 points per game from their second unit — a figure which stands as the third-worst in the league. That is probably the main reason why they do not trust their bench all that much. Their second unit, after all, also logs the fourth-least minutes per contest. Overall, this status quo stands to doom them when the postseason comes.
After trading Jared McCain, the 76ers only have one capable scorer off the bench — Quentin Grimes. But having said that, despite him being pigeonholed into a more suitable role, he has hardly been a beacon of consistency and efficiency. That is probably plenty enough to give anyone a preview of how lacking this team’s second unit is.
The 76ers will get exposed by their lack of bench scoring in the playoffs
Nick Nurse has always been the kind of coach who trots out his best five players to begin games, no matter the fit. But him and the front office overlooking the need to bolster the bench and dig deeper into the rotation could very well backfire when the playoffs finally begin.
The thing is, the 76ers have already over-exerted their players to the point where their starters are more prone to flaming out before the playoffs. That is where not having a reliable bench will bite them, as they simply do not have the infrastucture to depend on their second unit to at least keep leads.
Having Grimes as your sole bench scorer and relying on everyone else to chip in is certainly a dangerous proposition. The 76ers are, after all, littered with injury-prone players, and if the push comes to shove and they would be needing players to fill in for an injured starter, Nurse will most likely resort to starting Grimes anyway.
But without their lone bench scorer, the 76ers are only setting themselves up for failure. That is why increasing the amount of cushion they have on their second unit becomes all the more important, as players “stepping up”for their injured counterparts carries with it the effect of further weakening the bench.
Hopefully, the 76ers can find a way to reactivate the bench for good. After all, it could very well be the pendulum-swinger for their fate this season.