Have the Philadelphia 76ers failed Simmons and Embiid?

Though not perfect, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid can thrive together, but the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t given them a fair shot to do just that.

If the Philadelphia 76ers’ championship hopes hung by a thread, Ben Simmons‘ left knee subluxation (dislocation), leaving him out indefinitely, cut the rope clean. Except instead of a death sentence, it was more of a mercy kill for an organization that’s struggled to capitalize on the championship opportunity years of suffering have presented.

Normally an imposing duo, Simmons and Joel Embiid have the worst net rating among Sixers combos with more than 800 minutes this season. It’s the lowest in their three years together.

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As with everything that has plagued this underachieving team this season, that figure has more to do with those around them. No teammate is more significant in this fashion than Al Horford.

Per Cleaning The Glass (subscription required), Horford, Simmons and Embiid have played 915 possessions together. They’re minus-0.7 points per 100 possessions. In 865 possessions Embiid and Simmons have played without Horford, they’re a plus-4.4.

Horford improves Philly’s defense in his presence, but the sacrifices made to the offense — spacing and creativity — have been significant enough to try the five-time All-Star off the bench. Not exactly the type of return you’d hope on a $109 million investment the Sixers are stuck with for another three seasons.

The same could be said of Tobias Harris despite averages of 19.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Above-average numbers, yes, but nothing close to justifying the five-year, $180 million deal signed last summer.

Josh Richardson is not the 3-and-D wing Philly expected upon acquiring him in a sign-and-trade with Miami. He’s shooting just 33.2 percent from beyond the arc after topping 35.0 percent in three of his first four seasons.

These pieces have helped compile an offense that ranks just 17th in the NBA, the Sixers lowest mark since before Simmons was drafted. Among all 16 teams currently holding a playoff spot, Philly’s offense is ahead of only Indiana, Memphis, Brooklyn, and Orlando. Only the Pacers have an above .500 record among that quartet.

Simmons and Embiid are no ideal pairing. It’s no coincidence they play some of their best individual basketball in the absence of the other, free from the restraints their respective weaknesses impose.

Embiid has played nine career games without his point guard. He’s averaged 25.4 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting, 5.1 percentage points better than his career average. When Embiid missed nine straight during the season, Simmons led Philly to a 6-3 record with 21.6 points on 65.3 percent shooting, 9.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game.

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The absence of shooting from both is too pronounced for the Sixers to ignore when it comes to those who play alongside them, the other three on the court and eight on the active roster. They need space to operate and snipers to make defenses pay.

It was an understanding made clear in 2017-18, the first year Simmons and Embiid played together. J.J. Redick, Robert Covington and Dario Saric all shot above 36.0 percent from three. Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova did the same after being acquired midseason. Philly vastly exceeded preseason win projections with 52 and made an ahead-of-schedule second-round appearance.

Of all the two-man combos to log at least 1,300 minutes that season, a net rating of 15.5 put Embiid and Simmons in the No. 1 spot. The difference between them and No. 2 was larger than the gap between spots two and 11.

In the two years since, their net rating has worsened to 7.9 and then 0.6, respectively, dropping as the court around them shrinks and the shooting around them becomes less a part of the rotation. The aforementioned five shooters from the 2017-18 team averaged a combined 28.4 minutes per game. The top-five Sixers in made threes per game in 2019-20 play 25.1 nightly minutes.

Harris never made sense as a Sixer. Overqualified spotting-up for Embiid, Simmons and Jimmy Butler last season. Underqualified as the Sixers’ lone perimeter scoring threat this year. Due for a max contract far exceeding his market value either way.

Spending the wrong way

Philly overpaid for a player the LA Clippers were happy to avoid paying. Two first and two second-round picks. Along went Landry Shamet, who shot 42.2 percent on 5.0 3-point attempts per game as a rookie, a partial answer to their shooting woes earning less than four million a year through 2022.

You bring Harris in at a hefty price you know you’ll have to pay, the bare minimum is slotting him where his size and skill are a natural fit in 2020 and where he’s been at his best over nearly nine NBA seasons.

Philly wanted Horford in part to cover the inevitability of an Embiid injury, knowingly sacrificing the productivity of their other big free-agent signing days after coming to terms.

Bigs like Enes Kanter, Ed Davis and Luke Kornet aren’t better than Horford, but they’d provide that Embiid insurance at a far cheaper price. If a majority of Horford’s $109 million contract then goes where it’s needed — a 3-and-D wing, perhaps — and the Sixers likely get a better return on their Harris investment.

The Sixers sit sixth in the east with the real possibility of a first-round exit, locked into a future being poorly set up by its present. It’s a far cry from where they were after Game 5 of the 2018 conference semis. Defeated, but in possession of the blueprint to foster a championship-contending team for years to come.

Dreams of a title were only made legitimate thanks to Simmons and Embiid, two transcendent talents in a league ruled by them, but they’re further now than they were in 2018. More than the cohesion of an All-Star combo yet to enter their primes or the logical decision to swing for Butler and even Markelle Fultz, that says everything about the quality of the pieces Philly has locked in around its stars with little chance of escape.