The NBA season is in full swing and it’s far from a secret that the 2-22 Philadelphia 76ers have some glaring weaknesses pretty much everywhere you look. Michael Carter-Williams struggles with shooting and turnovers, while Tony Wroten’s issues follow suit.
All the while, the rest of the Sixers’ backcourt is still trying to find their way and assure themselves a future in the NBA.
But with a team that is dead last in the NBA in scoring with a horrid 91.2 points per game, finding easy buckets is crucial and the Sixers have a frontcourt that really doesn’t do much to help that cause, which is why Philly’s current situation in the paint is their greatest concern.
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At this point, Philadelphia has six guys who could fit in the category of post presences, regardless of whether they should actually be there or not, because quite simply, the Sixers don’t have very many quality options.
Philly features Nerlens Noel and Henry Sims among a supporting cast of Luc Mbah a Moute, Jerami Grant, JaKarr Sampson and Furkan Aldemir. This makes for a frontcourt that includes four guys in their first season in the NBA, with a rookie in Noel being arguably the best option down low.
So why is this such an issue, outside of their overwhelming youth, of course?
Well, just as I mentioned, points don’t come easy for the tanking Sixers and typically, especially for a team that struggles so tremendously to hit jump shots, going inside and getting easy looks would be wise.
Unfortunately for head coach Brett Brown; he doesn’t have that luxury with a frontcourt that’s averaging only 33.1 points per contest, and that’s including Aldemir’s two points from his inaugural game as a Sixer.
For the most part, Grant and Sampson are non-factors in the paint for the Sixers, with the two averaging a combined 4.6 points and 3.6 boards per game.
This is understandable with Grant being more of a small forward as a pro and only having nine games under his belt, but Sampson simply isn’t a true NBA talent and surely shouldn’t be in the post while he is in the league.

It’s hard to say much about Aldemir, considering he’s played only 10 minutes as a Sixer, but he’s not much of an offensive threat by any means and can seemingly credit his average rebounding as his greatest skill.
Mbah a Moute is more of a small forward, as well, but with very few options in the paint in Philly, the six-year veteran finds himself in the paint more often than Brown would like. In the paint, Mbah a Moute doesn’t serve as much of a post presence and is often at a disadvantage defensively.
Noel’s struggles are quite arguably the most understandable, considering he came in with clear-cut weaknesses offensively and is severely undersized at a very slender 228 pounds.
Noel has displayed some glimpses of his offensive potential sporadically throughout the season, as seen in his career-high 19-point outing on 9-of-12 shooting against the Celtics, but that’s been far from the norm for the box-top rookie through the first quarter of the 2014-15 season.
In his 21 games played, Noel has failed to score more than eight points in 14 games, which includes six games in which he scored no more than four points.
You can credit his scoring woes and usual brick that makes you wonder why on Earth he had the confidence to pull the trigger to a completely revamped shooting form that’s still in progress, along with the fact that he’s a traditional center transitioning into the power forward role.
But the truth is, whatever excuse and understanding that’s out there doesn’t matter once the game starts and Philadelphia struggles to find answers in the paint.

And then there’s the 6’10” Sims, who seemingly has a grudge with the paint and prefers to take his game away from the rim, as you can see with his shooting percentages and preferences this season.
% of FGA by Distance | FG% by Distance | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | FG% | Dist. | 2P | 0-3 | 3-10 | 10-16 | 16 <3 | 3P | 2P | 0-3 | 3-10 | 10-16 | 16 <3 | 3P |
2014-15 | .489 | 10.4 | .937 | .274 | .226 | .221 | .216 | .063 | .500 | .692 | .372 | .476 | .415 | .333 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
For whatever reason, Sims often chooses to settle for pull-up jumpers that stretch out to the perimeter, rather than battling down low as the biggest body on the Sixers’ roster would be expected to.
Sims does surprisingly hit a fair amount of his shots outside the paint, but when you’re a Sixers’ team that struggles to find points, especially easy looks around the rim, seeing Sims take a few more looks right at the basket could be beneficial.
You can credit Sam Hinkie for this team’s lack of production on the interior, which is to his benefit during this slow rebuilding process, just as you can credit these struggles to a significant injury with rookie Joel Embiid still sidelined.
At some point, Embiid should be healthy and with Noel’s development, the Sixers will be looking at a huge upgrade in the post, compared to what they have available now.
But until then, the struggles are likely to continue and unless Noel outlives his expectations this season by a mile and Aldemir actually has an offensive impact, points will continue to be at a premium for the Sixers’ frontcourt.