Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach Brett Brown met with the media on Wednesday morning and gave a little bit of insight into how the Sixers’ rotation will be looking down in Orlando.
The Al Horford debate has been one of hot discussion this season, with a majority of individuals agreeing that the entire signing has been a bit of a disaster. The team’s overall rating plummets when Horford and Embiid share the court together, and drops even further when Simmons joins the fray. With so much size clogging the lane at once, it’s not too much of a surprise this new starting five hasn’t been able to figure things out.
For the majority of the season, Brett Brown seemed insistent on making the Horford experiment work. He briefly benched the aging center in February, but quickly threw him back in the starting lineup once Simmons went down.
However, with the emergence of Shake Milton taking place just prior to the NBA’s shutdown, the conversation has begun drifting towards the second-year guard actually taking over Horford’s starting job. A lineup of Simmons, Milton, Richardson, Harris, and Embiid would definitely provide a bit more floor spacing.
The concept of splitting Horford’s and Embiid’s seems pretty obvious, seeing as they both operate in near-identical spots on the court. Horford was extremely successful in Boston playing as the team’s primary center (2018 All-Star), and could likely perform a similar function playing exclusively with the 76ers’ bench unit.
If the Sixers want to win this postseason, running Horford off the bench is a clear decision. If the organization wants to save face on what is looking to be an all-time bad free agent signing, they’ll likely continue trying to force the Horford-Embiid partnership.
Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
