Philadelphia 76ers Must Still Bolster Perimeter Defense
The Philadelphia 76ers have had a decent offseason that has allowed the team to cater the offense towards Ben Simmons, but still struggle to find a good perimeter defender.
The Philadelphia 76ers have added some familiar names to the team this season. Jerryd Bayless, Sergio Rodriguez, Gerald Henderson, and now Dario Saric have been the main additions to the team in the middle of the offseason.
The Philadelphia 76ers have undoubtedly gotten more talented than last season’s roster, but their biggest weakness last year will continue to be an issue this season; perimeter defense.
Overall, the team finished with the 5th worst defense in the league and much of that was due to the lack of solid perimeter defense. The team added Bayless, who although is an upgrade from last season’s guards, is not the strongest defender as he has had a negative defensive box plus/minus his entire career. Rodriguez, as we mentioned in his video breakdown, is a scrappy defender who can irritate guards on the perimeter but often has trouble fighting through screens and switching off the ball.
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Gerald Henderson can defend the wing semi-decently but isn’t by any means a lockdown defender. The quickness of today’s NBA wing scorers still give Henderson trouble along the perimeter. Dario Saric will become the biggest x-factor for the Philadelphia 76ers defensively. Saric’s defensive ability is still somewhat of an unknown, but it has progressed immensely from the time he was drafted.
Saric is decently athletic for his size, but even then he’ll have trouble guarding the wing. In the small-ball era, Saric will likely be going against quick forwards that can space the floor and quickly get around screens. When Saric goes up against a traditional stretch-four, he may have some success but staying in front of his man will be a problem until Saric can adjust to the speed of the NBA.
Rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will also struggle with transitioning to the speed of NBA wings, but may be serviceable as a defender off the bench.
Before last season, Robert Covington was considered the team’s best perimeter defender, but after struggling with his all around game that narrative started to fade. Still, Covington’s length around the perimeter could still give the opponent problems, but the team must question if Covington is enough to hide the weaknesses of Ben Simmons and the back-court on defense.
T.J. McConnell is one of the bright spots on defense at the guard position. He’s a slightly above average defender that tends to find ways to clog up passing lanes while also being an irritant on defense with his ability to stay in front of most NBA guards. The rest of McConnell’s companions (Nik Stauskas and Hollis Thompson) however, tend to struggle with staying on the ball.
The Philadelphia 76ers will continue to search for veteran presence that can contribute on the defensive-end along the perimeter. Teams torched the Philadelphia 76ers along the perimeter, getting by with ease and putting the team’s best two defenders in Nerlens Noel and Jerami Grant on an island at times.
Noel and Grant both struggle guarding opponents the further away they are from the basket, so when teams put out big men that can space the floor with shooting ability their interior shot blocking ability becomes neutralized. The team will need to find some way to allow Noel and Grant’s presence be felt down low.
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The Philadelphia 76ers will go into the 2016-17 season with still probably one of the worst defensive rosters in the league, but with Brett Brown’s new players at his disposal he will most likely try to combat that weakness with an even more high-paced offense. The Philadelphia 76ers finished the season with the 6th fastest pace but will look to move even quicker, both trying to flat out outscore the opponent while also masking half-court defensive troubles.
The team has made a pass at Manu Ginobili, showing that it is still interested in improving on this major weakness by adding a veteran presence.