November 11, 2016
Another winless week of Sixers basketball winding down means another week of questions about winless Sixers basketball in the mailbag. As always, thank you to everyone who submitted a question. Let’s get to it!
@rich_hofmann do the sixers practice free throws? Noel injury update? Simmons injury update?
— Captain_Slice (@tribfisher) November 10, 2016
They do, in fact, practice free throws at the end of every practice. The Sixers are currently last in the NBA from the ol’ charity stripe, but it’s not for lack of trying.
I do hear where you’re coming from in regard to Wednesday night’s game, though. Since the 1983-84 season, the Sixers are one of 13 teams to make at least 14 threes in a game while also shooting less than 47 percent from the free-throw line. That’s hard to do. And of those 13 teams, the Sixers had the fourth-most free-throw attempts with 19. So yeah, they left a lot of free points out there in a game that went to overtime.
Noel is still rehabbing from surgery in Alabama with WWE wrestlers and the Sixers haven’t provided an update on Simmons, who is still a few months away from returning.
@rich_hofmann How much of the screening issues do you put on the bigs when the guards also don't seem to utilize them appropriately
— Dave King (@DaveKingRules) November 10, 2016
It’s true that screen setting is a two-player responsibility, but in this case I personally think the big guys are more at fault. Sergio Rodriguez and Gerald Henderson are experienced ball-handlers that know how to run a pick-and-roll at this level. In Chacho’s case, I would argue that is his best skill. The good news is that I thought Joel Embiid took some steps forward in the screening department Monday against the Jazz. We’ll see what he can do for an encore in tonight’s game.
@rich_hofmann I have tix for 2/15 in Boston. What'll be their record? Will Ben play? Will Noel play, for the 6ers?
— dave (@djunderh2o) November 10, 2016
That is the 56th game of the season, so I’ll say they are 11-44 heading into that night’s contest. Not good, but also not flirting with the all-time loss record either. If Embiid can stay healthy, my guess is that we’ll see something closer to the 2014-15 season, when the Sixers started to find a defensive identity in the second half of the season and performed more like a run-of-the-mill bad team. Did I mention they probably won’t be very good?
Simmons should probably be back on the court by that time, and my guess is that Noel is in another city.
@rich_hofmann what's the real reason do u think that Joel only possibly gonna play only 2 games on a wk, what's point of playing this season
— Maurice Anderson (@Basicmo63) November 10, 2016
One of the major talking points this week (around the team, not in general with that whole election thingy) is if the Sixers are being too cautious with Embiid. Specifically, why didn’t he play in Wednesday night’s game if there was a day off on both sides?
I can’t get inside the heads of the Sixers’ four-man sports science department, but exercising some caution with Embiid is fine by me. Here’s a dumb analogy that I just thought of which may or may not work: Imagine Embiid as a driver in his first Indy 500, with no shot of winning despite possessing the most natural talent in the field. His car doesn’t have the best engine, his pit crew still has to improve, and every other driver has more experience.
That’s where Embiid is now with the Sixers. But even if that driver can’t win and kiss the bricks or whatever they do, there is value in simply getting to the finish line.
Brett Brown has indicated that Embiid’s minutes limit should hover around 24 until Christmas, which is understandable. If he continues to build on this strong start, I would imagine he’ll get an increase in minutes and games at some point. Just remember that the Sixers still aren’t capable of finishing middle of the pack, much less win it. They’re shooting for the 2020 Indy 500 and for that reason, I’m fine with erring on the side of caution at the outset.
@rich_hofmann Why on earth does anyone think firing Brown makes sense? Is there anyone on the market who could do better with this talent?
— ~~TO (@toglesby27) November 10, 2016
Gregg Popovich on Brad Stevens: ‘I really respect the hell out of him’ https://t.co/nargdqTyoJ pic.twitter.com/Bhq6kwqLeP
— Boston.com Celtics (@BDCCeltics) November 2, 2015
That’s about it, but they’re decidedly not on the market. I also think those two guys could solve more important issues than how to effectively blitz a pick-and-roll if they wanted to.
@rich_hofmann Why is the sixers' spacing so bad? When I watch the Spurs, it looks like they play on a court with twice as much surface area.
— Chris Jackson (@ActionCCJackson) November 10, 2016
Spacing is pretty much all about shooting. There’s obviously a coaching element too, but the Sixers have run a lot of the same stuff in San Antonio’s playbook over the past few years. They just haven’t been blessed with nearly the same level of shooting, which was because Sam Hinkie generally targeted that type of player (athletic, competitive, shaky jumper) both in the draft and bargain bin.
I actually believe the spacing has been half-decent this season: It’s early, but the Sixers are 15th in three-point shooting. With bigs that can stretch the floor like Embiid and Ersan Ilyasova and wings like Robert Covington and Hollis “Mr. 40 Percent” Thompson, the Sixers might actually be OK there. Once Embiid figures out how to take a modicum of care of the ball, they might actually have something that resembles an actual NBA offense for the first time in the Process era.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
