Trust the Process. We’re familiar with the term. We know who it belongs to as basketball fans. But I haven’t heard it too much of late. Have you? Maybe it’s because the ‘6ers organization believes they’ve moved on from the Trust the Process phase. That it’s served its purpose.
Or maybe it’s because The Process is failing.
There’s just so much to say about the 76ers right now. There’s what they should be; a team with a better record than the 17-6 Boston Celtics who have been without Gordon Hayward since early in the season. There’s what they could be; an NBA Finals Contender. I believe they have the talent. And then there’s what they are; an 18-7 team currently sitting 4th in the East and not looking as dominant as they should.
I don’t often agree with Sir Charles Barkley, but it’s hard to argue with his assessment that currently, the ‘6ers have ‘no chance’ at making the NBA Finals. So, what’s going on?
Process Failure: Ben Simmons, Overpaid
Let’s say you run a business. In every business, there are roles that need to be filled. The people you choose to fill those roles will have varying degrees of ability, drive, consistency, performance, etc. No person in a given role will be 100% all the time. But collectively, you want to put together a team that can accomplish your goals.
Now, say that the general manager you hired has huge holes in their abilities or skillset. Sure, you see lots of good qualities in them. And the skills they do have are well developed. But the areas where they’re lacking are… well liabilities. What do you do?
Well, if you’re the Philadelphia 76ers, you sign him to a long-term contract and wildly overpay him for his current skillset. In July, the ‘6ers signed Simmons to a 5-year, $170 million max contract.
He’s a point guard. Who. Won’t. Shoot.
That’s like signing a long-term contract with a general manager who is an excellent administrator but is too shy to interact with the staff. Out here in the real world, that contract is never even a possibility. That person would have a performance review. Ideally, they are told what they’re doing well and be given a bit of a raise for their efforts. But they’d also be told where they need to improve to take the next steps and are assured that compensation will follow.
And Underdeveloped
I get that things work a little differently in the NBA. There’s a lot of money to be thrown around. If you don’t sign your good young talent early or offer them enough money, there are 29 other teams waiting in the wings for their chance. But the flip side of this is that if the talent doesn’t develop to where it should, you’re stuck with an underperforming player taking up all your cap-space.
In Philly’s case, you’ve got a point guard who needs to get virtually all of his points in the paint. And a 7-foot center taking waaaay too many threes and terrible mid-range jumpers. No matter how big a fan you are of the ‘6ers, surely we can agree that this simply is not good basketball.
Oh, and not to mention, the man is shooting only 58% from the charity stripe. My stance has always been that a professional basketball player should not shoot less than 65% from the line no matter the position. A player that shoots below that should be taking 300 free throws a day until they hit the 65% mark.
But a freaking point guard only shooting 58%!?!? Just no. Nuh-uh. Unacceptable! Point guards shouldn’t be under 75%. Ever. Period. Ends of discussion. And let’s not forget, we’re talking about a point guard who wants to get all of his points in the paint. Arrrgh!
Ben Simmons’ Jumper
It’s not that I think that Ben Simmons has to have a jumper to be successful in the NBA. If ever a guard had the skills to make up for a lack of a jump shot it’s Ben Simmons. He’s got 15 kinds of hops. He’s an incredible passer. And don’t even get me started on the handles.
But the man is 6′ 10″ and he’s still not shooting jump shots. If he was, he could have a game like Penny Hardaway or Tracy McGrady. What point guard is going to be able to make a realistic shot contest against his height and lift? Even if the opposing team shifts their defense to cover him, chances are it will create a mismatch somewhere else on the floor that they can take advantage of.
Process Failure: Development
To be clear, I don’t see this as a Ben Simmons problem. I see this as a Process failure, plain and simple. Why have the 76ers as an organization not required Ben Simmons to develop his jump shot? He’s 23 years old and in his third NBA Season. You’re supposed to be guiding his development.
If I had power in the ‘6ers organization right now, here’s how I’d see things. I’d take a look at the Eastern Conference and see that there is zero chance this team gets through Milwaukee this season to get to the Finals. I would give them almost no shot at getting past Miami and 50/50 odds against Toronto. The important information is that Philly is not a Finals team this season. So I’d be using the time to give Simmons’ development a swift kick in the pants.
Every day that boy needs to be shooting jumpers. Before practice, after practice. Whatever it takes so that when he pulls up he’s confident the shots are going to go down. That’s step one. Step two would be a minimum requirement of attempted jumpers per game. I’d start with a requirement of at least 5 from between 10 and 15 feet. Once those are falling I’d add 5 from between 15 and 18 feet. This process (Yeah I did. Had to.) would repeat until it was simply a part of his game.
I’m not saying that he needs to be able to shoot the three like Steph Curry or have a Kobe-Esque mid-range arsenal. But he has got to at least be a threat from out there for the ‘6ers to have any chance. If sagging off him out there is even a little bit of a risk, it opens everything up for him and his teammates.
Process Reevaluation
With Simmons’ not being a shooting threat, the pairing of him with Embiid simply cannot work. The way the system is running now is a direct contradiction of what needs to happen for them to be successful. If they’re not going to push for, expect and demand Simmons to develop, they need to choose to part ways with either him or Embiid.
I think they’re both phenomenal players with a lot of talent and even more potential. But having two good players does not a winning system make. Having three exceptional players does not a winning team make. See the Har-Rant-Brook era of the OKC Thunder. Talent does not guarantee success in a team sport. The players need to make sense together.
Right now, Embiid and Simmons on the same roster simply don’t work for a team with their sights set on the NBA Finals. If the adjustments aren’t made within the roster they need to be made by changing it. Either way, The Process needs to be completed otherwise it’s ultimately going to fail.
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