Scouting Report: Six things to know about the Sixers' offense

The Sixers looked like a vulnerable team even before All-Star Ben Simmons went down with a season-ending knee injury last week. Now, Brett Brown has to revamp his disjointed team on the fly against a Celtics team that has looked as good as any squad in the bubble over the past week. 

With that said, Philadelphia will still have the best player (on paper) in this series in Joel Embiid and they also have plenty of experience and size on the court that will test Boston’s smaller starting five look. In our first edition of the Celtics-Sixers series preview, we will hone in on the Sixers offense.

The Basics for Sixers 

Pace: 99.0 (19th in NBA)
OffRtg: 111.1 (14th)
DefRtg: 109.2 (8th)
NetRtg: +1.8 (12th)  

Strengths on Offense 

Joel Embiid/Size: The loss of Ben Simmons hurts the Sixers a bit in this department but it does not take away from Philly’s strategic play entering this season: Build an imposing lineup at several positions. It all starts with All-Star Joel Embiid who remains the most talented offensive post player in the league. The 7-footer is averaging 21 and 10 against the Celtics this year over three games despite averaging just 27 minutes in those contests. Daniel Theis and Rob Williams lack the ability to handle him one-on-one in the post from a strength and size standpoint, which means a lot of responsibility will go to Enes Kanter in this series unless the C’s are willing to commit to selective double teaming. The offense will revolve around Embiid on a nightly basis and the Celtics are going to have to make some tough decisions if he gets into a groove in the post and focuses on taking high-quality shots instead of ill-advised midrange or 3-point attempts. 

Philly’s bulk could come in handy at other positions on the floor as well. Tobias Harris and Al Horford are about as big of a traditional frontcourt as you’ll find in the NBA. That duo didn’t fit with Embiid and Simmons on the frontline but there should be more spacing for both with Simmons on the sidelines. Both of these guys have the strength to bully the likes of Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward in the post and that’s where the Sixers offense will want to live this series. The game generally slows down in the playoffs and that could be a benefit to Philly if these games turn into a grind. Horford and Harris are two guys that know how to get to their spots. If the C’s don’t put up a good fight with ball pressure, they will find themselves getting bullied down low.  

3-point shooting: Surprisingly, the Sixers' offense has been better without Simmons on the court this year (two points better per 100 possessions). This is almost entirely due to his lack of a 3-point shot. Without Simmons in the picture in this series, the Sixers are going to have 4-5 capable 3-point shooters on the court at all times to try to maximize spacing around Joel Embiid and spread the Celtics defense thin. Philly shot 36 percent from 3-point range on the year (11th in NBA), but the majority of their weapons in this department will be coming off the bench in this matchup. 

Shake Milton (42.6 percent) was inserted into the starting lineup at point guard back in February to help improve spacing among the starters. Horford, Harris and Josh Richardson are capable but are all average 3-point shooters (34-36 percent) despite averaging over four attempts per game. The Celtics will need to prevent wide-open looks from these guys, but the greater focus on the perimeter will need to be with Sixers guards. Beyond Milton, Furkan Korkmaz (40.2 percent) and midseason pickup Alec Burks (39.4 percent) will be the players Celtics won’t be able to cheat off of to provide help defending Embiid. Mike Scott (36.7 percent) is also a stretch big that has punished the Celtics in past postseasons as a member of the Hawks. Boston’s rotations will need to be sharp for all 48 minutes in order to prevent any of these guys from getting it going. 

Offensive rebounding: Simmons was a big threat on this front but the Sixers size and shooting will still make this issue a priority for Boston’s undersized frontcourt. The Sixers ranked sixth in offensive rebounding rate this season and they’ve been the top team in the NBA on that front in the Orlando bubble. Moving back to a Horford/Embiid frontcourt should help in this department, as both of those guys should be able to bully smaller Celtic defenders for good position on the glass. The Celtics will also be vulnerable in this area if they are making good rotations to shooters on the perimeter since that will create mismatches on boxouts down low against Philly’s size. Boston was a middle-of-the-road defensive rebounding team all year long so they are going to have to have great commitment from their wings like Tatum, Brown and Hayward in this area to survive. Only two teams (Denver, New Orleans) rebounded better on the offensive glass against the Celtics this year than Philly, so you can bet this will be a huge priority for Brad Stevens in his preparations to ensure all five guys on the floor commit to the defensive glass. Otherwise, cheap points will be readily available for Philly all series long. 

Weaknesses on Offense

Getting to free throw line (except Embiid): The Sixers center ranks 6th in the NBA with 8.6 attempts at the free-throw line per game, largely thanks to his prowess in the post. After that? Easy points at the charity stripe are hard to come by for this group with Simmons (5.2 attempts per game) out of the picture. No other player on the Sixers roster averages over three attempts per game, a true sign of a team that is dependent on jump shots rather than getting to the rim. The Sixers top offensive weapons outside of Embiid in Richardson/Harris have never been high-volume free throw shooters and Horford has not been seeking out contact in the paint for a couple of years now. With Embiid camping out down low, most defenses have lots of help hanging around the paint, which forces the Sixers to seek out jumpers to get open looks. The C’s have struggled with fouling too much at times over the course of the season but beyond using their bigs fouls on Embiid, this shouldn’t be an issue for them in this series. Horford and Harris may try to force the issue in the post against the likes of Tatum/Brown/Hayward, so those guys will need to stay disciplined in what has been a low percentage offensive option for the Sixers all year. 

Scoring off turnovers: Ben Simmons is one of the most dangerous players in the league in transition. He has the size and speed to wreak havoc, which creates opportunities for himself and others off of turnovers. Without him, the Sixers are a slow team. The likes of Embiid/Horford/Harris aren’t coming to beat teams up the floor in transition after miscues and that’s evident in the numbers in Orlando. Philly’s 11 fast break points per game ranked last among bubble teams since the restart, with Simmons missing over half of those games. The Celtics are one of the best transition defenses in the league, but this is an area that they shouldn’t be tested much in by Philly. Keeping the Sixers locked into half-court opportunities will help prevent mismatches and easy second chance points that can come when the defense is scrambling. That will be a far easier task with Simmons nowhere on the court. 

Shot creators/ballhandlers: This has been a question mark about this Sixers roster since this summer. Once Sixers GM Elton Brand allowed Jimmy Butler to walk in free agency along with backup point guard TJ McConnell, Philly has had a roster devoid of guys that can easily create a shot for themselves and others. Simmons took over as the primary ball handler for this team for the starting lineup for much of the season but without him they are really lacking reliable options. Al Horford (4 assists per game) is the leading distributor on the active roster right now and that does not bode well for a 33-year-old who has been on the decline all year. 

The remaining pieces of the roster are full of holes. Shake Milton is a shooting specialist and not a reliable ball handler or distributor. Raul Neto can run an offense but is a massive defensive liability. Josh Richardson and Alec Burks are both capable of handling the ball but are subpar passers. None of these players should strike fear into Boston’s defense and that will help the coaching staff devise the right scheme to keep Joel Embiid under control without giving up too much in other areas of the floor. 

Coming this weekend…the Sixers on defense