You got Sixers questions, I did my best to answer them!
Hello, friends.
I solicited questions from you all last week and really appreciate everyone who spent the time to submit one. No use getting bogged down in an intro — let’s get right to your questions!
(I went long on these questions so we’ll run the mailbag in two parts.)
There’s some overlap here, so let’s lump these together a bit.
Schematically, I don’t think much changes. In his first season here, Nick Nurse did an excellent job making the team’s offense more unpredictable and basically allowing Joel Embiid to run things at the elbows. There was more of an emphasis on player and ball movement that hadn’t been there under Doc Rivers.
I would expect more of the same, even with George. If anything, George’s ability and willingness to take catch-and-shoot threes should help Embiid find another level as a passer. Think of all the record-scratch moments there have been over the years with Tobias Harris. George isn’t perfect when comes to decision-making, but he’s so much more advanced than Harris in that regard — and such a better player in general.
Of course, there will be times when Nurse caters the offense to George and gets him in actions he’s comfortable with, especially when Embiid is off the floor. While there will be opportunities for isos and ball handling in the pick-and-roll (again, especially when Embiid isn’t playing), expect George to truly be the team’s third option. Though I would not be surprised to see the occasional pick-and-roll with Embiid, I envision George playing Harris’ role but like … really well.
George’s shot diet is largely threes and long twos. Can he attack a closeout? Absolutely. Can he iso in a mismatch and post a guy up or take them off the dribble? Also yes. But George is here to basically do what he’s good at: make shots far away from the basket. He was comfortable doing that last season in L.A. playing off Kawhi Leonard and James Harden as the Clippers’ primary ball handlers. He should flourish here with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey touching the ball the most. Remember, George is one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the sport and is excellent at relocating and finding space.
Now George famously didn’t approve of the way Rivers used him (which … OK). George jokingly said that Rivers deployed him like JJ Redick, running him off pin-downs and putting him in DHOs. With the Sixers, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of that with George and Embiid running a two-man game. Where George is in his career and playing with a force like Embiid, I could envision the veteran being more agreeable to it.
Getting back to Embiid, I’ve been of the belief for a while that it would be best for both team and player if he scaled back his offensive role a touch and focused more on rim protection and rebounding. When he’s able to focus on those things more (and healthy, whatever that means for him these days), Embiid has legitimate Defensive Player of the Year potential. Perhaps with Maxey continuing to ascend and George in the fold, Embiid will feel comfortable handing over the keys more often, especially in late-game situations. For what it’s worth, Maxey and George seem to have Embiid’s trust more than any teammates the big man’s ever had.
As for Kelly Oubre, Jr. and Caleb Martin in the starting group and their shooting, yes, it’s something to monitor.
Oubre’s shooting season was bizarre. Over the first 25 games of the season, Oubre shot a respectable 36.4% from deep. Over the next 32, he shot an abysmal 24.7%. He saw an uptick over his final 11 games (36.1%) before shooting well in six postseason games (39.1%). Oubre mentioned that he dealt with a shoulder issue that he believes is resolved. As of now though, it’s hard to expect Oubre to be anything more than an inconsistent (albeit very willing) shooter.
Martin’s shooting numbers are kind of hilarious in that he’s just an average shooter in the regular season who turns into Ray Allen in the playoffs. Part of Martin’s regular-season shooting downtick likely stems from all the injuries Miami suffered the last couple years and his looks not being quite as good. I don’t get the sense he’s a player teams will let shoot a bunch of uncontested threes, but left with little recourse, Martin and Oubre will likely get a ton of open looks.
I think the nice thing about players like Oubre and Martin is that they can do other things when their shots aren’t falling. Oubre has shown he can get downhill and draw fouls while also being a strong cutter off Embiid. Similarly, Martin is comfortable putting the ball on the floor and has other ways to make defenses pay for ignoring him. They’re offensive threats that defenses will have to respect. And both guys will be a tremendous help on the defensive end.
However, it’s fair to wonder where Nurse goes if those guys struggle from deep and it hurts the offense. Does Kyle Lowry go back into the starting group? Does Eric Gordon get a look? If Guerschon Yabusele’s shooting from the Euroleague translates, does Nurse give him a shot?
Speaking of Yabusele …
This is a question that nobody has the answer to at the moment, but it’s interesting.
Yabusele checks a bunch of boxes for the Sixers. Legitimate power forward size? Oh yeah. Toughness and ability to track down loose balls? Definitely. An understanding of team basketball and buying into his role? Yep.
The swing skill will be the shot. Yabusele hit 44.5% of his threes for Real Madrid last season. He did not shoot it particularly well during his run with France in the Olympics. He’ll have the deeper line to contend with, but he should also have more space than he’s had overseas or in international play.
But like I mentioned with Oubre and Martin above, the nice thing about a guy like Yabusele is that he can help the team in so many ways if he isn’t making threes. Despite his thick frame, Yabusele still boasts athleticism, likely what’s earned him the nickname Dancing Bear. The one NBA comp that’s been thrown around is Grant Williams. While Williams has proven to be a solid shooter, Yabusele is actually a little bigger and yet still more explosive.
If Yabusele can just be a respectable three-point shooter (say, 35%?) I would not be surprised to see him in the rotation — and maybe even featured in closing lineups from time to time. It’s an ideal low-risk, high-reward signing, but we won’t know how it will play out until we see it on the floor.
Another factor I don’t want to downplay: Yabusele is hungry. He knows guys don’t always get a second chance at the NBA. He’s still just 28. He has an opportunity to make a lot of money and stick in the best professional basketball league in the world. It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison to the Oubre signing last year, but it’s similar — and we all saw how hungry Oubre was last season.