As the Philadelphia 76ers continue down their path towards trying to win an NBA championship inside the bubble in Orlando, they will need to be at their best when the playoffs roll around on August 17. So, they will need to create momentum in the seeding games beforehand.
Led by young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, they will need to set the tone for the Sixers on the floor. How do they do that? By doing what they do best and dominate out on the floor.
“For Jo, just this maniacal paint presence, a maniacal crash offensive boards, a maniacal paint presence,” said coach Brett Brown. “I’m going to shoot, pick a number, it’s definitely double figures, free throws a game. There’s a disposition that we want to cultivate and grow with Joel. Defensively, we all get who Joel Embiid is defensively. That’s not normally an issue. I want to make sure that we as a team that his personal focus has that paint in mind as much as we possibly can.”
In Saturday’s opening loss to the Indiana Pacers, Embiid did just that. He went for 41 points and 21 rebounds while shooting 12 free throws. That is a mindset that the Sixers will need out of the big fella on an every-night basis to get Philadelphia in a good groove and in rhythm.
For Simmons, it’s a little more specific.
“Ben, it’s rebounding,” Brown added. “It’s just simple rebounding. It’s offensive rebound and it’s defensive rebound. If you look at what he can do when he defensive rebounds the ball, there’s no better dribble out guy in the league. He’s a freight train, a runaway train, so the incentive of defensive rebounding is amplified because he’s so good on dribble ups.”
Simmons is moving over to a new position at power forward and Brown wants him to use that to the best of his ability. He wants Simmons to grab the rebound and then immediately get out and run in transition. He can then either finish at the rim or find one of Philadelphia’s shooters on offense. Then on the offensive glass, that’s an easy bucket for him.
“Offensive rebounding, I just think it will end up equaling cheap baskets and free throws,” Brown finished with. “It’s simple where my head is at, for me, as far as what’s most clear, what’s most important. It’s in those areas as it relates to focal points with Ben and Jo.”
Philadelphia will take on a smaller San Antonio Spurs team on Monday and that is where Simmons and Embiid can have a huge night in the paint just like they did against Indiana. The Sixers will just need to defend much better than they did on Saturday. [lawrence-related id=36070,36055,36049]