Philadelphia 76ers: 3 big questions following 2019 NBA All-Star break

1. Is the bench good enough?

With every overriding strength comes a trade-off. In Philly’s case, the astounding starting five they’ve put together is offset by employing the weakest bench of any legitimate East contender.

T.J. McConnell and Furkan Korkmaz, two backups who play significant minutes, will get exposed on defense. Boban Marjanovic can only play specific matchups. His foil, Jonah Bolden, is a rookie who Brown will be reluctant to give minutes to at the 5. Jonathon Simmons is a non-shooter, which limits who he can share the floor with. The team’s most reliable backup might end up being James Ennis, the theoretical 3-and-D wing any team could use.

No one in the starting five should exceed 42 minutes a night in the playoffs, barring overtime. That leaves at least 30 minutes total (roughly six per position), approaching 40, for the bench to be sprinkled in.

Brown has done a good job staggering Embiid and Simmons; they’re not perfect complements, and they both require different skill-sets around them.

This is where Butler and Harris come into the fold. Butler seems like a good option to run the offense when Simmons sits, as he can create for himself and others in a more traditional way. Harris, meanwhile, is a great partner for Simmons in the pick-and-roll, either as the roller or the initiator.

Those duos seem like good stagger combinations, and Brown can obviously tinker different permutations depending on matchup. It’s not like hockey where entire units get subbed out. Redick fits into virtually any lineup that doesn’t include McConnell or Korkmaz.

The hope is that the team’s best five are overpowering enough to minimize the weaknesses of the next 4-5 players on the totem pole. Based on recent years, this theory seems accurate, as talent tends to trump depth.