The Philadelphia 76ers are undergoing plenty of different changes heading into the 2020-21 season. They have brought in a new coach in Doc Rivers while also bringing in the necessary shooting around their star duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
One of the major changes surrounding the team will be the fact that Simmons and Embiid will be running more pick-and-roll on offense in order to get more open looks and use their talents. They did not run much of that offense under former coach Brett Brown, but Rivers has been impressed by what he has seen so far.
“They have been great,” said Rivers. “They are starting to figure it out. it is going to take time. The pick and roll I was telling somebody the other day, it is the oldest play in the game. It is still one of the most difficult plays to guard in the game. So when you put your two best players in it, it really doesn’t matter their skill set.”
It is helpful that there are shooters on the floor now surround the two of them going to work in the paint. If the defense collapses on the star tandem, that means shooters like Seth Curry and Danny Green as well as Tobias Harris are left open.
“When you put your two best players together in an action, it creates chaos and I think they are doing that and they are starting to see little things they can get out of it,” Rivers added. “They have so much shooting on the backside of it that it makes it very difficult and Ben’s speed is a factor. We are encouraging him to use his speed more, not less, pick his spots but use it more not less.
The attention that they demand makes life easier for the supporting cast, but on the other side, the supporting cast doing their job makes it easier for Simmons and Embiid to do their thing as well.
“They look good in pick and rolls,” marveled Harris. “When both of them are in pick and roll, space with three other shooters, it is tough to guard. So it is up to them to figure out how to use their God-given talents, which for Ben is size and speed. For Joel, it is his ability to be stronger than a lot of other guys.”
Even Dwight Howard, who has been in the league for 16 seasons now, has been impressed by what he has seen out of the explosive stars.
“Just their concentrated effort on making sure that they get good screens and communicate with each other,” said the veteran. “They’ve been doing a pretty good job of dominating in the pick-and-roll making great plays. Ben has done a good job of using Joel and also just being patient in the pick-and-roll.”
Even though Simmons is only 24-years old and he has played three years in the league, he has done so much at this level and the way he runs things on offense has been something to behold. Howard added that Simmons’ patience has been impressive for him.
“I think a lot of times, young players, they come up to pick-and-roll and they go 100 miles an hour, but Ben is actually utilizing all of his options,” Howard continued. “He has 3-point shooters, he’s got Jo who’s either picking or popping and he can get to the basket and score over any of the guards that are checking him so he’s done a good job, and Joel’s setting real solid screens. He’s reading the defense, he’s rolling, he’s popping, and he’s making plays. I think that trust and that chemistry between those two guys, and the rest of the guys on the starting squad have been amazing so far.”
Having played under Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers, Harris had an idea that this was coming and it will be something for them to build off and grow with.
“I knew Doc coming in here was something we were going to implement and it is just a matter of picking apart the defense because I think Ben is really good at getting downhill and faster than a lot of people who guard him and Joel is bigger and stronger,” he finished. “It is about slowing down and picking apart the defense how they play.” [lawrence-related id=40105,40098,40095]