Philadelphia 76ers: Doc Rivers is going to love Norvel Pelle

Is Norvel Pelle in line for a bigger role on Doc Rivers’ Philadelphia 76ers?

Historically speaking, Doc Rivers isn’t the most center-focused coach in the NBA.

Since initially becoming a head coach with the 1999-2000 Orlando Magic, Rivers has only had seven centers average 10 or more points per game, and only two, Al Jefferson and DeAndre Jordan, who have averaged a double-double over a full NBA season.

That’s not good news for Joel Embiid, who is easily the best center Rivers has ever coached and has to be given a priority in his schematic implications, but weirdly enough, it may be just what the doctor ordered for Philadelphia 76ers second-year center Norvel Pelle.

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I know, I know, that seems like an oxymoron, right? How can Rivers’ inexperience fielding a Big 3 centered around a generational big man actually help his backup? Well, allow me to elaborate.

Over his 20-year sample size as a head coach, Rivers has routinely tasked his teams with scoring the brunt of their points off the wings, with forwards routinely leading his teams in rebounding. Now, to be fair, this may be because the best centers Rivers has been tasked with coaching are far from scoring dynamos, outside of a 35-year-old Kevin Garnett, of course, but if Austin‘s father really wanted a superstar center anchoring down his starting five, he certainly could have brought one on board while holding personnel power from 2013-18.

Measuring in at 6-foot-10, 231 pounds, Pelle is not Jefferson, Jordan, or even the Los Angeles Clippers’ 2020 starting center, Ivica Zubac. With boundless hops, good instincts, and a ridiculous pension for blocking a would-be bucket in its tracks, Pelle actually looks more like a power forward and could be an impressive contributor to Rivers’ rebound-by-committee approach that helped to elevate Montrezl Harrell to a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate – a reward he finally won in 2019-20.

Like Pelle, Harrell is noticeably undersized when facing off against a throwback center like Dwight Howard, and can be factored out of games where being stout in the paint is paramount, but his ability to fly around the court, switch onto forwards and execute a beautiful alley-oop largely outweighs his back-to-the-basket deficiencies.

Now, to be fair, Pelle isn’t Harrell. Pelle is a year older than Harrell with four fewer seasons of NBA experience and a much lower ceiling. With that being said, Pelle can be used in a similar way, and for a team with very little ability to bring in external talent via free agency, that’s valuable.

Granted, Pelle’s playing time is all but certainly predicated on whether or not Al Horford is on the 15 man roster when opening day rolls around (whenever that may be). If Elton Brand is unwilling or unable to unload the 34-year-old’s massive contract later this fall then yeah, Pelle’s role will in all likelihood look a lot like it did under Brett Brown as a rookie, even if his play warrants a few more minutes per game.

If, however, Horford is in some other uniform – say, the Sacramento Kings for example – then all bets are off for Pelle’s ceiling in 2020-21.

Is relying on Norvel Pelle as a full-time backup center to the oft-injured Joel Embiid a risky proposition? Yeah, I’d venture to say so, but if paired up with an older vet like Tyson Chandler, or a 3-and-D shooter like Mike Muscala, Doc Rivers’ style of play could unlock Pelle’s ceiling at both ends of the court, and give the Philadelphia 76ers some added energy when Embiid exits the court.