The evolution of the 2019-20 76ers into the 2020-21 76ers is an exhibit of why it's so important to surround your stars — in this case, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons — with trusty, heady, experienced shooters. That's exactly what Daryl Morey did, and that's exactly the type of system that Doc Rivers has run, and that's exactly why the 76ers find themselves atop the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2001.
The Philadelphia system has given opponents fits, mostly on the defensive side of the ball thanks to All-NBA-type defensive performances from Embiid, Simmons and others (you better not forget about Matisse Thybulle in this playoff run), but they're a tricky offensive team to handle as well. They definitely can be stopped, however; we've seen the offense sputter before and the fact that they're outside the top 10 in both points per game and offensive rating shows that they do have vulnerability in that sense. The question then becomes not if you can stop them, but how you're going to stop them, and that's what NBA legends Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal debated on "Inside the NBA."
Charles Barkley thinks the key is not only slowing down Embiid, but forcing Ben Simmons to shoot.
"If I'm the Wizards, I'm gonna double Embiid and I'm gonna make Ben Simmons shoot the ball," Barkley said. "Ben Simmons is gonna have to shoot the ball for the Sixers to go deep in the playoffs... I'm saying the one guy who won't shoot, I'm gonna force him to shoot. I'm not gonna leave Tobias Harris. Ben Simmons will not shoot — he's gonna have to shoot."
The fact of the matter is that any team could have success stopping the 76ers offense if they successfully made Ben Simmons take jumpers. It's probably a part of everyone's game plan, though that doesn't mean the Sixers haven't found a way to work around it. Considering the fact that he has taken 91 percent of his field goal attempts from within 10 feet — and 52 percent of them within three feet — Doc Rivers will likely be able to draw up something that allows Simmons not to shoot from outside of that range, as has been the case all season. However, Barkley is absolutely right. IF the Wizards can force him to take shots that are outside his comfort zone, it'll absolutely stymy the Sixers' attack.
That's a tall order, though. Shaq wants to see something else, a strategy that comes off as an intimidating proposition for Wizards fans at first but one that might be a solid idea: completely deny any of the four players around the perimeter, and force Embiid to win on his own.
"I'm not letting Tobias get off, I'm not letting Ben get off, I'm not letting none of their shooters get off," Shaq explained. "I'd be like, Embiid, we know you're a great player. Show us every night. And, just make him play defense. Like, if he's just shooting jump hooks all game he'd have a great game. But put him in multiple pick-and-rolls, get him in foul trouble. I don't want the others to get off. I'd be like, Joel Embiid, you wanna be the MVP? Show me. Four games, average 40 [points]."
You usually want to take away the opponent's best player. But by highlighting Embiid and going to work on him constantly on the offensive side, getting him into high-effort situations and allowing him to go to work while taking away all his help may do just that counteractively. If it's a close game in the fourth quarter and Embiid is tired, in foul trouble and has been working at high energy all game... who's in trouble now?
Of course, both of these are great hypotheticals. But will either strategy actually be feasible? I don't think so... which is why I didn't even include this No. 1 vs. No. 8 series in my rankings of the first-round matchups with the most upset potential. Sixers fans, don't fret... at least not yet.
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