Sixers: Brett Brown’s half-court sets will see more success

The Sixers have finally given Brett Brown some versatile talent. Luckily for him, his gameplan seems to fit the new roster perfectly.

The Sixers may finally have the chance to see how their investment in Brett Brown pans out, and vice versa. The Sixers’ head coach comes into the season with two star-rookies, a returning Joel Embiid, and a veteran perimeter threat in J.J. Redick. An expected improved play off the bench will help as well.

This isn’t a “hot-seat” year for Brown by any means. It is a year, however, where his schematic brilliance will be evident to even general fans. His half-court sets last season seemed bland, and at times the offense failed to function through a large talent gap. In reality, the complexity of each play Brown has Philadelphia’s players entail go deep into thought about second, third, and even fourth options.

The scout known as Cranjis McBasketball (@T1m_NBA), spent time diagramming some of the Sixers’ most used plays. In those plays, he also documented certain changes he’d make to the plays. Taking a dive into the plays used last year, and re-imagining them with the expected starting five should create excitement for Brown.

This play “Cross Fist”, is one we saw more often with Joel Embiid off the court. “Five” would set an off-ball screen for three, giving “one” and open pass. Then, a pick and roll between “five” and “three” become the focal point. This play works beautifully with two skilled ball-handlers. Insert Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.

Fultz having the ball at the top of the key would make sense, but him or Simmons could be interchangeable as the “one” and “three”. Embiid setting a screen to free up Simmons, then setting another one in a pick and roll is a dream. The two have incredible athleticism for their size, and if the defense clogs that up, Fultz, J.J. Redick, and Robert Covington are along the wings for three-point opportunities.

If Fultz were to take on the “three” role, then the initial screen could open up a quick three-point opportunity from the start. There’s a lot more spacing in this lineup, and with two capable ball-handlers this play should find more success. Often times it was Covington fumbling the ball off the second screen, leading to turnovers.

Again, this play becomes so much more valuable with a versatile player like Ben Simmons. Joel Embiid was a center point in this. If not hitting a three-pointer at the top of the arc as the trail man, Embiid was setting this “flare screen”. Here’s where having two threats in Redick and Fultz come into play. Redick’s success in Los Angeles came off these types of screens, so expect him to take the role of the “two” in this scenario.

By the end of the pick-and-roll, you have Simmons, Embiid, and Covington as inside options. In the meanwhile, Fultz and Redick are three-point threats. This improved roster makes this play harder to defend in the sense that the Sixers are now able to score in various ways.

For this play to be best executed, Simmons needs to be the “one”, and Fultz at the “three”. As you can see from the diagram, the major way of creating space in this play is to actually clutter. So as Embiid would set the screen for Fultz, Simmons would then run by him to receive a hand-off.

Meanwhile, Covington sets a screen for Redick on the opposite side. The spacing to the left contrasts with the clutter to the right, which in turn gives the Sixers spacing because of Embiid’s three-point shooting ability as he leaks towards the corner.

This works with bench players as well. TJ McConnell, Jerryd Bayless, and Dario Saric obtain the necessary skill sets for this to work in a less-dangerous way.

This one should center around J.J. Redick. The Sixers finally have shooting, and this will allow them to show it off. Markelle Fultz as the “one”, would pass it to Redick at the “three”, then run off of flare screen towards the corner. Redick, while not the most skilled passer, is able enough to make a quick pass if Fultz were open in the corner.

If not, Redick then passes it off to Simmons as the “two”. Redick then runs off a flare screen of his own, giving Simmons a second outlet off the pick and roll with Embiid.

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There’s a recurring theme here. In all of these popular sets, Simmons would end up in a pick and roll with Embiid. As it should be. Embiid is a versatile scorer with quick instincts, and Simmons is a quick, elite passing point forward. The two-man game between them should be difficult to cover just on paper.

The next theme is Fultz and Redick along the outside. Sure, Fultz will serve as a ball-handler for a good amount of his playing time, but his main role as an outside scorer will be evident from day one. Redick’s role is known, and it won’t change much from what his importance to the offense from what it was in Los Angeles.

The final theme? Covington is minimized on offense. When considering his performance last season, it may be a good theme. Covington is far from being a negative on offense, as his three-point shooting still makes him a threat. His inconsistencies can’t put him as a second or even third option. This minimizes his struggles, while emphasizing his importance on defense.

Brett Brown constructed a gameplan last season with Ben Simmons in mind. Thanks to freak injury in training camp, we were robbed of the recognizing his ingenuity. Assuming health finally aligns to the Sixers liking, teams will have to learn how to stop the complexity of Brown’s plays, and the versatility Simmons offers.

Next: Redick's role moving forward

This also gives a reason to why Dario Saric, even off the bench, is so important. In many ways he is the main bench player that would make these plays stay effective when much of the starting lineup is out. There’s a lot of change in the Sixers roster, but the gameplan should stay similar.