With how this season has started for the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s only natural for the team to have doubled the amount of their doubters, even at this early juncture where games don’t carry the same weight just yet. However, despite the many valid excuses they can endorse, most of their shortcomings are of their own doing — a fact that is simply too undeniable to gloss over.
Heck, thanks to the Utah Jazz winning last night, the 76ers now officially hold the worst record in the entire association with a 1-7 win-loss card. The road doesn’t get any easier. Four of their next five opponents made the playoffs last season, and Tyrese Maxey remains out for at least a week, although Joel Embiid is set to return against the Knicks.
Having said that, even Embiid and Maxey’s return won’t solve a particular roster issue, one that has plagued the team for years and has subsisted this season. The answer, however, is staring at them right in the eye.
The clear answer to this 76ers woe is already on the roster
Inasmuch as the 76ers have struggled offensively, they’ve just been as putrid — if not more — defensively. Only five teams tout a worse defensive rating than them so far this season.
One problem which is actually a patent and obvious one contributing to this issue is the team’s inherent lack of size at the wing and forward positions. While the 76ers have average to above average level stoppers at those roles, they employ undersized players on the nightly, giving them a smaller margin of error on the point-preventing end of the floor.
Having said that, one player who has been an exception is Guerschon Yabusele, the team’s lone natural power forward. However, the way Nick Nurse has employed him has been puzzling.
Despite being an even smoother operator on offense than expected while being malleable defensively with the added intangibles that he brings, Yabusele’s minutes this season has been a Russian roulette. One night, he’s popping off. The other, he barely sees the court. That has to change.
Nick Nurse and the coaching staff have to reward Yabusele for his effective play on both ends, and that starts with giving him consistent playing time. That’s just the bare minimum, though, especially as he’s shown more than enough to even warrant a bigger role.
Even when the Philadelphia 76ers start to get healthy, putting bigger bodies on the floor is imperative for them to have a more solid chance at becoming at least a passable defensive team. And playing Guerschon Yabusele more is an obvious in-house solution they should acknowledge.