Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers

2019-20: 43-30 (3rd in Atlantic, 6th in Eastern Conference, 12th in NBA)

Lost to Boston 4-0 in First Round

2019-20 Individual Stats	2019-20 Team Stats	Head Coach Profile
Points: Joel Embiid (23.0)Rebounds: Joel Embiid (11.6)Assists: Ben Simmons (8.0)Steals: Ben Simmons (2.1)Blocks: Joel Embiid (1.3)3-Point %: Furkan Korkmaz (40.2%)Free Throw %: Josh Richardson (80.9%)	Points: 110.7 (20th)/108.4 (6th)FG%: 46.8% (10th)/46.3% (16th)3-Point %: 36.8% (9th)/35.3% (13th)Free Throw %: 75.5% (22nd)Offense Ranking: 13thDefense Ranking: 8thTurnovers: 14.2 (10th)/13.8 (23rd)	Doc Rivers – First season with Philadelphia (0-0)

Trust the process no more. The Philly front office has to be commended for its patience of letting Brett Brown work with this team and develop it into a true championship contender. But once they got there, the trajectory flattened and they couldn’t get over the hump. They were swept in the first round by the Celtics, and the front office had a decision to make.

That, plus the way Brett Brown was using his team and strategizing was strange. He just didn’t know how to use his players to the best of their ability. Al Horford was lost for the entire year, playing low-post center, while Embiid played way out on the perimeter. It should have been the other way around. Enter Doc Rivers, a great strategist and NBA Finals champion as a coach. His mission is not easy: turn this team into a real team and not just a combination of great players who don’t know how to play together. He did it in Boston. He did it in L.A., at least until last year. Can he do it in Philadelphia?

G Josh Richardson	Dallas	C Dwight Howard	L.A. Lakers
G Raul Neto	Washington	G Danny Green	L.A. Lakers
F James Ennis	Orlando	G Seth Curry	Dallas
C Kyle O’Quinn	Free Agency	F Justin Anderson	Brooklyn
F Norvel Pelle	Free Agency	C Tony Bradley	Utah
G Alec Burks	New York	G Derrick Walton	Detroit
F Glenn Robinson	Sacramento	F Ryan Broekhoff	Dallas
G Zhaire Smith	Free Agency	G Dakota Mathias	G-League
G Marial Shayok	Free Agency	F Lamine Diane	Cal State Northridge (UFA)

NBA Draft

(1, 21)	G Tyrese Maxey	Kentucky
(2, 34)	G Theo Maledon	France
(2, 49)	G Isaiah Joe	Arkansas
(2, 58)	F Paul Reed	DePaul

Projected Roster

SF	Tobias Harris	One of more underrated scorers in the league, averaged 20/7 last year. He will be X factor in this offense.
PF	Al Horford	Struggled to adapt to former coach Brett Brown’s scheme. Doc Rivers will use the talented big man much better and use his shooting and down-low talents well.
C	Joel Embiid	Unquestioned best player on the team, and arguably best offensive center in the NBA, averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game.
SG	Danny Green	Comes over from the Lakers, and gives the Sixers a good 3 and D player. Excellent perimeter defender and knock-down 3-point shooter.
PG	Ben Simmons	Creates matchup problems with his 6-10 size, and routinely gets triple doubles. But lack of shooting beyond about 5 feet is frustrating.
F	Justin Anderson	Comes over from Brooklyn to add experience and strength.
F	Furkan Korkmaz	Best 3-point shooter on last year’s team, Rivers will use him well, but he has to bulk up.
C	Dwight Howard	Former All Star and DPOY just won a title with the Lakers, and has adjusted to his role as a bench player and energy guy.
SG	Seth Curry	Doc Rivers has to have shooting, and Philly lacked that last year. Seth Curry is a career 45% + 3-point shooter, and he will have every chance to be the J.J. Redick of this offense.
G	Tyrese Maxey (R)	Definitely talented young player with loads of potential, but is still extremely raw and probably came out a year too early.
F	Mike Scott	Good energy player and 3-point shooter.
F	Paul Reed (R)	Great find in second round. Reed averaged double-double of 15/11 in physical Big East.
C	Tony Bradley	Comes over from Utah where he backed up Rudy Gobert. Now behind both Embiid and Howard, will he ever see the court?
G	Matisse Thybulle	Great perimeter defender still needs to find shooting touch.
G	Shake Milton	Had moments of great basketball last year, and he’ll get to prove himself again this year.
G	Isaiah Joe (R)	Great scorer in the SEC, averaged 17 points per game and shot 34% from 3 and 89% from the line for the Razorbacks.
F	Ryan Broekhoff	Kind of a tweener. Is he a guard or forward? And can he play either in the NBA?
F	Lamine Diane (R)	Two-time Big West Player of the Year averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds per game. Flew under draft radar for playing in small conference, but he’s a great player.
G	Dakota Mathias	Has spent time in G-League, might be headed there again.
G	Derrick Walton	Has bounced around the NBA and can’t find a home. Maybe won’t be in Philly for long, either.
G	Theo Maledon (R)	Talented international player, but rumors of a trade or staying overseas keeps him on the bottom of this roster.

Question #1: Brett Brown had a lot of trouble figuring out how to use this great collection of players. With Doc Rivers at the helm, can you describe what you see as the way he should use these players in his new offense? What’s the formula for winning in Philadelphia?	Answer: I HOPE that Embiid will get a lot of low post opportunities.  He has the size and skillset to be a modern Shaq given the right opportunity and dedication.  Given that opportunity, I think he can be a 25/15 type of player.  I also hope that Ben Simmons takes up the typical Point Guard role on the team leading the team in assists and getting points for other players like Embiid and Harris.
Question #2: With a different coach at the helm and several different players in the lineup, how will Embiid’s role on the team change?  Will we see more low post action, back to the basket work, or will Embiid continue to operate out of the wing and high post?	Answer: Doc Rivers understands the skillset of his players. He will give Embiid the best opportunity to be successful, and that mainly means out of the post. They will play inside out, with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, with Seth Curry and Tobias Harris floating along the perimeter, and Al Horford causing mismatches both on the arc and down low. Doc Rivers has got to be salivating for the many different ways he can utilize this lineup.
Question #3: There have been reports of friction between stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, and their inability to thrive together. Is the friction bad enough to explore a trade for Simmons (they’re not trading Embiid)? If not, what needs to happen internally to get these guys on the same page to compete for a title?	Answer: We see reports about player friction from every team.  Sometimes the media can be like a talkative mother in law.  Any rumor gets passed around and exaggerated across the NBA and social media.  Whether or not the friction is true, it’s probably resolved or not as serious as the rumors state.  I don’t expect a trade for either player to happen anytime this season.
Question #4: What was your favorite off-season move for this team?  Which player do you expect to have the biggest impact on the team.  On the flipside, which player do you expect will get lost in the lineup?	Answer: I think Seth Curry will have the biggest impact. I don’t think he’s the best player they brought over, but he fits exactly what Doc loves to do. J.J. Redick was with him in both Orlando and L.A., and Curry is that same kind of player. He will get open shots, Rivers will get him involved early, and he will thrive. On the flipside, I expect first round pick Tyrese Maxey to get lost. I think he’s still too raw and his skill set doesn’t match the other players. I think he struggles to find a role on this team.