So how are you feeling now?

[papajoe]

wont go anywhere with elton brand running the show, guys a clown.

[PhillyPhilly]

wont go anywhere with elton brand running the show, guys a clown.

[hookshot199]

As of right now y’all are the clearcut favorites, but this time last year Celtics were the clearcut favorites, by the trade deadline we’ll have a clear understanding because Milwaukee, Indiana or Boston could make a move that puts them right there with you

I don't think we're clearcut favorites. I think the Sixers and Milwaukee are basically equal. For us, much will depend
on whether Embiid and Horford stay healthy and whether Simmons is willing to take a shot. We still need a shooter
off the bench and a backup point guard who can shoot (TJ with a 3-point shot). Our roster isn't complete. I'm not too
worried about it - yet - but am antsy about picking up a veteran shooter, a guy like Korver.

For Milwaukee, if Giannis improves his mid-range and long-range shooting, they'll be formidable. They've got in my
opinion, the best backup point in the league in George Hill.

For Indiana and Brooklyn, it depends on when Oladipo and KD return and if they return at top form. For Toronto,
it depends on whether Kyle Lowry has another year.

The issue for the Celtics - and I live down the road in Providence - is lack of a starting center and, more generally,
lack of depth in the front court. Kemba will give you more stability at point, but let's be honest, Kyrie, without all
the psycho-drama, is a better player. Nevertheless, I'd go for stability after last year.

In addition to your front-court deficiency - you really needed to be the third team in a Butler-to-Houston trade to
get Capela - you've got Hayward. I realize C's fans think he'll have a better season - and you're probably right - but
he's not a good defensive player even if he continues his recovery. He's not quick and athletic. The Sixers are long
and athletic. He'll have trouble against us unless we leave him wide open. But unlike last year, we've now got
Horford playing the top of our zone and running people into Embiid.

And then Tatum, who will be a big-time shooter. He's not a creator. He reminds me a bit of Tobias Harris.

I still believe you have a better coach. He'll get the most out of your roster. Jaylen will be playing for a contract.
That's all good. But basically, I think your biggest team structural problem is at the 5. Losing Baynes hurt. And
Horford, assuming he stays healthy, was always one of the glue guys on your roster. You still have Marcus Smart.

Again, our roster isn't complete. And just like the Celtics, we're capped out, thus have to depend on signing vets'
minimums to complete it.

Re the Celtics not meeting expectations last year, you had too many of the same players - short 4s and athletic
2s and 3s. It was predictable that Jaylen Brown would be unhappy with his minutes cut as you tried to re-integrate
Hayward.

Just my opinion.

[snoopdogg88]

I’m asking this honestly, not sarcastically, but can someone please explain how to our bench/depth got better?

I keep seeing this narrative on every Sixers forum and I feel like I’m on an island here because I just don’t see it. If anything I feel like we actually lost a little depth we had.

I’m not seeing how the likes of a raw rookie, Shake Milton, Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto are some big upgrade.

Boban, TJ, Amir, Furkan, Simmons, Monroe certainly weren’t very good. But they were bodies at the very least. And I’m not seeing how we’re deeper this year.

[ivysixer2000]

I’m asking this honestly, not sarcastically, but can someone please explain how to our bench/depth got better?

I keep seeing this narrative on every Sixers forum and I feel like I’m on an island here because I just don’t see it. If anything I feel like we actually lost a little depth we had.

I’m not seeing how the likes of a raw rookie, Shake Milton, Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto are some big upgrade.

Boban, TJ, Amir, Furkan, Simmons, Monroe certainly weren’t very good. But they were bodies at the very least. And I’m not seeing how we’re deeper this year.

Hard for me to see it too, but people are assuming there will be some growth with the young guys.

Neto has to stay healthy, playing 10-15 mins a game shouldn't be hard but he has shown that he can't even do that. Kyle is an upgrade.

We need a young guy to break out, kinda like Shamet did last year or our bench will stink. I think most are basing their projections, assuming that someone will break out. I don't think Shake has the athleticism to break out, so it comes down to the rookies. One of them shows us something, we will be tough....if they look like rookies we will be terrible to start out the season.

I think both will be serviceable, with Zhaire being the one that could be special given time and patience. Our 9 man rotation, at least for now, is full of young players. Just depends on if your a glass half full or glass half empty guy.

[sixerswillrule]

I’m asking this honestly, not sarcastically, but can someone please explain how to our bench/depth got better?

I keep seeing this narrative on every Sixers forum and I feel like I’m on an island here because I just don’t see it. If anything I feel like we actually lost a little depth we had.

I’m not seeing how the likes of a raw rookie, Shake Milton, Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto are some big upgrade.

Boban, TJ, Amir, Furkan, Simmons, Monroe certainly weren’t very good. But they were bodies at the very least. And I’m not seeing how we’re deeper this year.

Hard for me to see it too, but people are assuming there will be some growth with the young guys.

Neto has to stay healthy, playing 10-15 mins a game shouldn't be hard but he has shown that he can't even do that. Kyle is an upgrade.

We need a young guy to break out, kinda like Shamet did last year or our bench will stink. I think most are basing their projections, assuming that someone will break out. I don't think Shake has the athleticism to break out, so it comes down to the rookies. One of them shows us something, we will be tough....if they look like rookies we will be terrible to start out the season.

I think both will be serviceable, with Zhaire being the one that could be special given time and patience. Our 9 man rotation, at least for now, is full of young players. Just depends on if your a glass half full or glass half empty guy.

If it's a 9 man rotation then only one of Shake/Zhaire/Thybulle will be in there. It could be two of them though and a 10 man rotation, depending on how many minutes Scott and Ennis get. I don't see Bolden being in the regular rotation unless he's beating out Scott.

Simmons/Neto
Richardson
Harris/Ennis
Horford/Scott/Harris
Embiid/Horford

I think that 8 is set when everyone is playing. The young wings will fight for the last 1 or 2 spots. But for all of the games either Embiid or Horford sits then two more spots will open up, for O'Quinn and one of the young guys.

[Kobblehead]

Our bench isn't better, it's just different.

We got rid of a handful of unproductive wallflowers and replaced them with other unproductive wallflowers.

Scoring production is still nonexistent.

[Sixerscan]

I think the optimism comes from the hope that:

1. Horford is able to keep lineups afloat with Embiid out (which was really the big issue moreso than “the bench” since it’s not like Brown plays 5 bench players at the same time)
2. At least one of Thybulle or Zhaire being able to give you a solid 20 mpg. (They don’t really need to “break out” to do that)

I don’t think anyone is expecting anyone outside of the top 5 guys to crack double digits though.

[rzzzzz]

cautiously optimistic. maybe snag a veteran sharpshooter after Brett gets used to scheming a functional front line.

[Ben]

Our bench isn't better, it's just different.

We got rid of a handful of unproductive wallflowers and replaced them with other unproductive wallflowers.

Scoring production is still nonexistent.

Folks need to read and get this. The bench was really bad last year and it's really bad right now. As Sixerscan points out, "the bench" will be used a few players at a time with starters mixed in, but that's true of all teams (except during blowouts). We have no proven bench scoring-- less than last year, when we had Bobi for a partial season-- and no proven bench shooting (we had Shamet for the first part of last season). Hopefully Smith can be a bench scorer, and maybe even Shayok, and hopefully Smith and Thybulle can shoot decently. But it's a giant unknown right now, and for a team whose window is right now, that's leaving a lot to chance.

I'm still hoping for one more shooter before the season begins.

[Sixerscan]

Our bench isn't better, it's just different.

We got rid of a handful of unproductive wallflowers and replaced them with other unproductive wallflowers.

Scoring production is still nonexistent.

Folks need to read and get this. The bench was really bad last year and it's really bad right now. As Sixerscan points out, "the bench" will be used a few players at a time with starters mixed in, but that's true of all teams (except during blowouts). We have no proven bench scoring-- less than last year, when we had Bobi for a partial season-- and no proven bench shooting (we had Shamet for the first part of last season). Hopefully Smith can be a bench scorer, and maybe even Shayok, and hopefully Smith and Thybulle can shoot decently. But it's a giant unknown right now, and for a team whose window is right now, that's leaving a lot to chance.

I'm still hoping for one more shooter before the season begins.

Not really, the Sixers were pretty unique last year during the regular season in the way they staggered their lineups so there were always 2 (and generally 3) of their top 5 players on the court. Most teams have stretches where there’s one starter and 4 bench players, or even entire bench units.

The Raptors for example have been running Lowry and 4 bench player lineups for years, the Thunder would play huge stretches with neither Westbrook or Durant on the court, Doc Rivers loves his bench mobs etc.

Zach Lowe regularly refers to the Sixers staggering as unusual. Of course it’s a function of not having a lot of offensive options off the bench. But if they set the lineups such that someone like Scott is never more than a 3rd or 4th option it’s less of an issue. Team’s calling card will definitely be defense though.

[Ben]

Our bench isn't better, it's just different.

We got rid of a handful of unproductive wallflowers and replaced them with other unproductive wallflowers.

Scoring production is still nonexistent.

Folks need to read and get this. The bench was really bad last year and it's really bad right now. As Sixerscan points out, "the bench" will be used a few players at a time with starters mixed in, but that's true of all teams (except during blowouts). We have no proven bench scoring-- less than last year, when we had Bobi for a partial season-- and no proven bench shooting (we had Shamet for the first part of last season). Hopefully Smith can be a bench scorer, and maybe even Shayok, and hopefully Smith and Thybulle can shoot decently. But it's a giant unknown right now, and for a team whose window is right now, that's leaving a lot to chance.

I'm still hoping for one more shooter before the season begins.

Not really, the Sixers were pretty unique last year during the regular season in the way they staggered their lineups so there were always 2 (and generally 3) of their top 5 players on the court. Most teams have stretches where there’s one starter and 4 bench players, or even entire bench units.

The Raptors for example have been running Lowry and 4 bench player lineups for years, the Thunder would play huge stretches with neither Westbrook or Durant on the court, Doc Rivers loves his bench mobs etc.

Zach Lowe regularly refers to the Sixers staggering as unusual. Of course it’s a function of not having a lot of offensive options off the bench. But if they set the lineups such that someone like Scott is never more than a 3rd or 4th option it’s less of an issue. Team’s calling card will definitely be defense though.

Maybe you're right about that bolded part. To that I would just respond that not being able to play one's starting 5 all together for most minutes (because the bench is so thin and weak) seems like a very large weakness. So the end worry comes to the same thing.

[Arsenal]

I foresee 3 main lineups, each for around 16 minutes per game:

Starting lineup:

PG Richardson
SG Harris
SF Simmons
PF Horford
CE Embiid

Simmons lineup (Embiid and JRich out, Smith in to defend PG, Ennis at SG, everyone else moves up a position):

PG Smith
SG Ennis
SF Harris
PF Simmons
CE Horford

Embiid lineup (Embiid and JRich as the starters w/3 bench players):

PG Neto
SG Richardson
SF Thybulle
PF Scott
CE Embiid

I thought about putting Thybulle in at SG for the Simmons lineup, but I think they'll try not to play Smith and Thybulle together. No more than one "rookie" per lineup.

If we sign a guy like Kyle Korver, he would take either Thybulle or Ennis' spot in the rotation.

[Sixerscan]

Folks need to read and get this. The bench was really bad last year and it's really bad right now. As Sixerscan points out, "the bench" will be used a few players at a time with starters mixed in, but that's true of all teams (except during blowouts). We have no proven bench scoring-- less than last year, when we had Bobi for a partial season-- and no proven bench shooting (we had Shamet for the first part of last season). Hopefully Smith can be a bench scorer, and maybe even Shayok, and hopefully Smith and Thybulle can shoot decently. But it's a giant unknown right now, and for a team whose window is right now, that's leaving a lot to chance.

I'm still hoping for one more shooter before the season begins.

Not really, the Sixers were pretty unique last year during the regular season in the way they staggered their lineups so there were always 2 (and generally 3) of their top 5 players on the court. Most teams have stretches where there’s one starter and 4 bench players, or even entire bench units.

The Raptors for example have been running Lowry and 4 bench player lineups for years, the Thunder would play huge stretches with neither Westbrook or Durant on the court, Doc Rivers loves his bench mobs etc.

Zach Lowe regularly refers to the Sixers staggering as unusual. Of course it’s a function of not having a lot of offensive options off the bench. But if they set the lineups such that someone like Scott is never more than a 3rd or 4th option it’s less of an issue. Team’s calling card will definitely be defense though.

Maybe you're right about that bolded part. To that I would just respond that not being able to play one's starting 5 all together for most minutes (because the bench is so thin and weak) seems like a very large weakness. So the end worry comes to the same thing.

Well yeah, certainly not arguing it’s a good thing that we don’t have a scorer off the bench. I just think if you look around the league at other top teams you’d find other similar weaknesses on offense or defense or lack of comparative strengths. There’s no 2017 warriors level juggernaut this year.

[PhillyPhilly]

Can we start crying about the bench when the season starts and we actually SEE what they do please? Smh. Ennis and Scott already showed they can perform in the playoffs. Bolden showed he belonged in the league with several impressive showings and Quinn is a legit nba player along with Neto. I also fully expect to see Smith, Shake and Matisse step in and give a spark here and there. Folks just seem to be obsessed with having some "super bench" when it's pretty much impossible when you arguably have the best starting five in the league. We've got to be realistic.

[Kobblehead]

Staggering starters doesn't fix lack of depth. Nor was that even Brett's intention. We made that such a point of emphasis last year because our core pieces didn't fit together.

You need 7-8 players that can score to have a quality rotation. We have 5 starters that can score and nothing on our bench.

[Mik317]

I’m asking this honestly, not sarcastically, but can someone please explain how to our bench/depth got better?

I keep seeing this narrative on every Sixers forum and I feel like I’m on an island here because I just don’t see it. If anything I feel like we actually lost a little depth we had.

I’m not seeing how the likes of a raw rookie, Shake Milton, Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto are some big upgrade.

Boban, TJ, Amir, Furkan, Simmons, Monroe certainly weren’t very good. But they were bodies at the very least. And I’m not seeing how we’re deeper this year.

Grass is always greener mentality probably.

we knew that last years bench sucked ass, so with all the relative unknowns we are betting on that being better.

Still lacks any firepower imo. But defensively it can't be any worse than last year....right?

[eagereyez]

The talent level of the team is roughly the same as it was last year, assuming player development from the young guys. The difference is next year everything will come down to late game possessions with the ball in Simmons' hands. Brand has decided to re-create the 4 shooters + Simmons roster that lost 4-1 to the Celtics. We'll see if Simmons' improvement and defensive upgrades in Richardson and Horford will make the difference next time around.

[PhillyPhilly]

When your starting five all pretty much average 15 ppg or above, then they are going to do the bulk of the scoring. The key is having a bench that can collectively get you 25 or above points...and in Scott, Ennis and O'quinn we have three vets in three different positions who have proven they can get 8 ppg throught a season. Add in the others and i'm hopeful our bench will be just fine.

[Sixerscan]

The Raptors won the series against us with 3 guys averaging over 9 ppg... if anything the Sixers were the more we’ll rounded scoring team in that series. Didn’t work out.

Most championship teams are pretty top heavy in terms of scoring with role players capable of playing defense. Acting like all of teams have had 7-8 capable scorers doesn’t really hold up.

The open question really is whether our top guys are good enough to score that much.