Philadelphia 76ers: Taking an early look at the 2019-20 rotation

The rotation

To start, let’s look at the point guard position grouping. Elton Brand has always had a phobia of guards, so there are truly only two lead ball-handlers on the current roster: Simmons and Neto.

We know Simmons’ deal. With the skills of a guard and the size of a big, there’s just one thing he’s not good at: shooting. It’s an absolute must that he takes those open 3s this year. Otherwise, the same old story will happen come playoff time.

For the long 82-game grind, Neto is a solid backup. He knows his role, can shoot 3s off the catch (career clip of 37.7 percent) and defends capably. It’s too bad he got hurt so much, because he led the Jazz in Net Rating swing last season (14.0).

For the regular season, Simmons will likely hover around 34 minutes per game. Neto, when healthy, is destined to take the other 14 minutes or so, with Milton sliding to the 1 in a pinch or when someone gets hurt.

Richardson has experience on the ball too, and may get some spot minutes running the point in certain matchups. Ditto for Harris.

As for the wing minutes (2 and 3), the majority will go to those two, who each averaged 35 minutes a game last year. They’ll both shift up the positional scale at times, especially in lineups with only one of Al Horford or Joel Embiid.

Milton, Ennis and Smith can be considered “2s” for this exercise (because they’re smaller than Thybulle and Scott), although rotations don’t work that way anymore. The Sixers have an army of two-way wings off the bench, and they’ll all mix and match with Richardson and Harris.

Thybulle will have exceptional defensive chemistry with Embiid, in the same way Robert Covington did. Embiid’s vertical threat at the rim will give Thybulle some leeway to be aggressive on the perimeter, leading to a lot more transition opportunities. That, along with Smith’s threat as a lob catcher, should put a grin on Simmons’ face.

How the wing minutes get distributed is easier to explain when dissecting the big rotation. Horford and Embiid will share the court somewhat, but Horford’s true value will come when staggering against Embiid.

Neither player should get much more than 30 minutes a game in the regular season, meaning that each of them will get at least half their minutes as the lone center. In those lineups, Harris and Scott will get most of the minutes at the 4, with Bolden spotting here and there.

Why is this important? Because people had a negative knee-jerk reaction to seeing Harris slide back to the hypothetical 3 (via the Horford signing). But in practice, that’ll be less frequent. This also allows for more Milton and Smith minutes at the nominal 2.

O’Quinn will get whatever center minutes can’t be staggered, and will act as the backup 5 when one of Horford or Embiid needs a night off. His game is similar to Richaun Holmes‘, but with better wherewithal.