The Philadelphia 76ers are now dealing with the aftermath of the news of Ben Simmons being out due to a subluxation in his left knee that will keep him out indefinitely. The injury is a huge blow to their championship aspirations as they will be missing one of the game’s dynamic players.
That now leaves the Sixers having to rely heavily on Joel Embiid. Which is not the worst thing in the world. The big fella is averaging 28.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting 58.3% from the floor so far in the bubble as he appears to be in excellent shape.
However, with Simmons out, coach Brett Brown is putting even more responsibility on his shoulders.
“Two things. One, defensively when you take out, and I think Ben was having a great defensive season, when you take that length out, that weapon out, that versatility out, I think there is more responsibility on everybody, but especially Joel,” said Brown. “I feel like his rim protection, him being such a presence at the rim, looking to block shots, looking to defensive rebound, stuff in the paint, stuff at the rim as it relates to defense is going to be even more required. We need him to go to an even higher level defensively.”
Then, there’s the offensive side of the ball. Obviously, the biggest thing that has stood out with Embiid is his ability to pass the ball out of the post so far in Orlando. He has handled the double teams very well and that is something that has impressed the team.
In Wednesday’s win over the Washington Wizards, he had 68 touches and 38 passes per NBA Stats with only three turnovers. That suggests that he has been making quicker decisions in the post whether it’s to attack or pass to the open man. The numbers match the eye test and that is something Philadelphia will have to lean on more.
“Offensively, he needs to get as many touches as we can give him,” Brown added. “I think that one of the areas of most noticeable growth is what’s he been doing passing out of the post. It’s probably the single thing that stands out most to me, offensively whether it’s Jo or just us as a team, I like our post spacing. I like Jo’s unselfishness, quarterbacking gyms, his ability to read where the double teams are coming from I think has been shown.”
Without Simmons, the offense now becomes an Embiid centered offense. Which means a focus more on paint touches rather than pushing the ball up and down the floor with Simmons running at a breakneck speed. The Sixers have seen success in an Embiid-less offense in the past due to his own injury issues and load management plans, but this will be their first real look at a Simmons-less offense.
“He’s going to receive a higher volume of touches,” Brown added of Embiid. “Then it’s like how do you handle that environment from that starting point?”
They will get their first look on Friday when they take on the Orlando Magic from Disney World. [lawrence-related id=36290,36282,36272]