Philadelphia 76ers
The Process (R.I.P.) resulted in Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and Joel Embiid.
That’s the lineup. It’s set:
Ben Simmons: 5-year, $170 million max rookie contract extension signed back in July.
Tobias Harris: 5-year, $180 million contract signed back in July.
Al Horford: 4-year, $109 million contract signed back in July.
Joel Embiid: 4 years left on his 5-year $148 million contract.
Josh Richardson: 2 years left at $10 million per year and an $11 million player option for 2021-22.
This is a fascinating gargantuan-sized lineup that will hulk over the Eastern Conference for years to come. It was designed by GM Elton Brand to stop the Greek Freak. For that reason, you could say this type of size was a necessity, but we wonder about the shooting, depth and speed. It really might not matter. The Sixers are going to bully teams and be so very stout defensively. And it’s not like Harris, Richardson and Horford aren’t capable of hitting threes.
The Wild Card is Ben Simmons. Will the Fear of the Three still be present in real games? He says it won’t. He even made his first three in the preseason to the grand elation of the internet. But here again, even if he doesn’t, it might not matter. Sure, having even the possibility of a shot going up from Simmons on the perimeter automatically improves floor spacing and requires defenses to pay attention, but we know that Simmons’ game without a jumper can get you a boat load of wins in the East. And that was before the lineup was stacked and set.
The Philly front office was in limbo for a while after the Coangelo fiasco. This team was scattered and lacking stability, shaken up by numerous trades.
But now the lineup is here to stay and head coach Brett Brown has to prove he can make this offense click and find consistent crunch-time scoring.
Ring that bell, brotha.
League Pass Notes
Embiid and Simmons, the best young power dunking duo in the game.
We find Embiid’s on and off court antics to be wildly fun and hilarious.
One more for JoJo: It is astounding how many times he falls down. It is A LOT. And he has a long, long way to fall down. We might have to start an Embiid fall-down tracker.
Wells Fargo Center gets litty litty lit.
The Final Questions / The Final Take
Who will step up and carry the Sixers bench unit? The prime suspects include a mix of vets and youngin’s. The vets: Mike Scott, James Ennis and Trey Burke. The youngin’s: Zhaire Smith, Shake Milton and rookie Matisse Thybulle.
Does the lack of speed present a bigger issue for the ginormous set lineup?
Who is going to be able to score on this defense?
We won’t be surprised in the least if Philly steamrolls to the Finals. OVER 54.5 wins.