PHILADELPHIA — Not having Ben Simmons this season has impacted the 76ers significantly at the defensive end.
Simmons, the runner-up for NBA Defensive Player of the Year last season, typically defended the opposition’s best guard or wing player.
In terms of defensive rating, the Sixers are 10th in the 30-team NBA this season, allowing 108 points per 100 possessions. A year ago, they were second to the Lakers at 107.
It hasn’t helped that guard Matisse Thybulle, who was a second-team All-NBA defensive selection last season, has missed 14 of the Sixers’ 47 games this year due to injury or health and safety protocols.
Another area that Simmons’ absence has clearly affected is in the rebounding department.
Just past the halfway point of the 2021-22 season, the Sixers are last in rebounding (42.1 per game) and 27th in rebounding differential (-3.0) after finishing tied for 10th in rebounding a year ago (45.1) and ninth in differential (+2.1). That is quite a drop-off.
The primary reason is the Sixers going from the 6-foot-10 Simmons in the starting lineup to the 6-2 Tyrese Maxey alongside 6-1 Seth Curry in the backcourt.
“With Ben as one of the players on the floor, you’re a big team,” said Sixers coach Doc Rivers on Tuesday. “This year, we’re not. We have a really small backcourt to start off with. You can make a case we’re pretty small (at the) 1, 2 and 3 (positions), in some cases.”
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While the rebounding numbers for center Joel Embiid, power forward Tobias Harris and backup center Andre Drummond (compared to Dwight Howard a year ago) are similar to those in 2020-21, the difference is essentially Simmons’ 8 rebounds per 36 minutes last season, compared to Maxey’s 3.5 per 36 this year.
The solution is that there must be a collective effort by everybody on the floor to hit the boards.
“It’s an issue,” Rivers said. “We talk about it. We’re starting to gang rebound. The guards are starting to get it – they’re not going to (always) get the rebound, but they can keep the ball alive. And that’s something we haven’t been doing well all year, but now you’re starting to see it.”
Tuesday’s come-from-behind 117-105 victory over the shorthanded Pelicans gave the Sixers a 28-19 record, four games behind their 32-15 mark at the same point a year ago on the way to the best record in the Eastern Conference (49-23).
Doing a better job rebounding, as well as making good decisions with the ball and stopping dribble penetration, among other areas, is essential for the Sixers if they plan on moving up the standings and securing homecourt advantage in at least the first round of the playoffs.
“The last thing is we have to be quicker to the ball,” Rivers said. “I don’t know how many games we show film where it just feels the ball is rolling on the floor, then the other team keeps getting it. We have to have better pursuit.”
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly
