How the Sixers Can Survive Without Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons is reportedly due to miss some time following an unknown back injury. This is more serious than the Sixers are currently letting on, as it will not just be a “day-to-day” injury, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
There's no timeline for a Simmons return, but an evaluation in two weeks is more of an initial benchmark date than an expectation of a quick return to the lineup. https://t.co/HqCsag1jvx
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 25, 2020
Since big men and back injuries go together like orange juice and toothpaste, this is very worrisome news. So if Ben Simmons were to miss substantial time, what would that mean for Philly’s chances for the rest of this season and beyond?
Last night’s 129-112 victory over Atlanta was certainly exciting, but equally concerning, as it took the best game of Joel Embiid’s career to beat the 17-42 Hawks, who lead after three quarters. This game, along with Saturday’s blowout loss to Milwaukee, gave us a good idea of how this team will perform without their All-Star point guard. As you might expect it would without Simmons, the Sixers success will largely fall on the shoulders of the self proclaimed best player in the world Joel Embiid.
When he explodes as he did last night, it usually results in wins. When he struggles, as he did in Milwaukee scoring 17 points on 5-17 shooting, it gets ugly quick.
This raises an important question; although Embiid is undoubtedly one of the league’s most dominant players, are the days when a dominant big man can lead you to sustainable team success over? Today’s game is so perimeter oriented that it’s hard to envision a team that relies on post-up offense defeating a team like the Bucks four games out of seven. However, if there’s one player who can do it, it’s Joel Embiid. When he asserts himself, there is no team in the East that has a player capable of stopping Embiid. But it’s not Embiid we should worry about without Simmons, it’s everyone else. Can we rely on the largely inconsistent Tobias Harris to be that big time secondary scorer? Can the Sixers roster of average shooters create enough space to punish defenses who try and double team Embiid?
Also, with Simmons out, where would the perimeter defense come from? A team like the Celtics would be happy to watch Embiid pound away in the post while their perimeter stars are drilling threes.
A solution to this problem, should Simmons miss truly significant time, is to change how Joel Embiid is featured in the offense. The Denver Nuggets might hold the blueprint to maximize this team around Embiid. Like the Sixers without Ben, the Nuggets have a dominant center, a fringe star in Jamal Murray, a slew of decent role players, and no real point guard. Instead, they use Nikola Jokic as the fulcrum to their offense, with others screening and cutting around him. Joel, an extremely underrated passer, could thrive in this role. This could allow him to faceup, attack the rim, or hit cutters and open shooters. Even with Simmons on the floor, Philly’s current offensive structure is too stagnant, with role players often standing around watching Embiid. Empowering Embiid to become the primary playmaker out of the post would help get the most out of their role players as well as the talents of their All-NBA Center.
The Sixers were a long shot to make it out of the East WITH Ben Simmons, but seemed to be figuring things out after a few big wins. Without Simmons, the Sixers will not even be a lock to make it out of the first round. For now, all we can do is hope that all this remains hypothetical as we wait for more news on the health of Ben Simmons. However, if Brett Brown adopts an offense that embraces Embiid’s playmaking ability, they have a chance against anyone.