With the 2020-21 regular season in the books, now is the time to begin breaking down and predicting some of the honors for the season. The Philadelphia 76ers finished as the No. 1 seed in the East, so they will receive some love for the All-NBA teams and All-Defensive teams.
They are led by the star duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons who are in the conversation to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. Embiid is in MVP conversations as well. The Sixers have been successful due to the play of their talented duo.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe put together his three All-NBA Teams and his two All-Defensive Teams and he gave the Sixers some love. Lowe has Embiid on the All-NBA Second Team, which is a little surprising considering the season he had on the floor. He had Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic on the All-NBA first team.
Lowe on the decision:
The one missing, of course, is Embiid, and it is fair to ask why I (and many voters) won’t take advantage of the same positional leeway and slot Embiid into that forward spot.
I have always tried to remain at least semi-realistic with positions as long as the league is using positional designations. Embiid is a pure center.
As far as his predictions for the All-Defensive teams, Simmons makes Lowe’s All-Defensive first team while Embiid, as well as Matisse Thybulle, are on the All-Defensive second team. Simmons is joined by Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert on the first team, and they are three no brainers for Lowe:
Gobert, Green, and Simmons went 1-2-3 on my Defensive Player of the Year ballot, so they were first-team locks.
As for Embiid, Lowe has him on the second team due to the number of games he missed this season. He also believes that will hinder his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy:
A fully engaged Embiid is maybe the most intimidating and impactful defender in the game. Embiid is stronger than Gobert in the post, a little nimbler in space.
With a full minutes allotment, Embiid would have been right there for Defensive Player of the Year.
As for Thybulle, despite only being a bench player and averaging only 20 minutes a game, he makes a huge impact on defense. He averaged 2.9 steals and 2.0 blocks per 36 minutes as he uses his excellent skills to his advantage.
Lowe on Thybulle:
He might be the best perimeter defender in the world. He’s one of the best perimeter defenders I’ve ever seen. Thybulle is some sort of phantom. He doesn’t move in normal ways. He’s in one spot, and then suddenly, without warning, he’s somewhere else 15 feet away — only not enough time has passed for any human to traverse 15 feet. Thybulle doesn’t move. He apparates.
He averaged five combined blocks and steals per 36 minutes, an absolutely absurd rate. He is straight-up destructive to your emotional well-being and physical safety. Having Thybulle on the floor is like playing with 5½ defenders.
The Sixers figure to be featured prominently for the seasonal awards as Embiid, Simmons, and Thybulle all have a serious case to be named to one of those teams.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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