In the 2011-12 season, the Philadelphia 76ers had an up-and-down campaign because they were an elite defensive team (for half the season) that relied on transition offense triggered by quick, active, pressure defense. Pace-wise, they were one of the slower squads, which was unfortunate because when things slowed down, they didn’t have the types of players who could dominate multiple possessions and make things happen in the half court.
Enter Bynum, who is a traditional, back-to-the-basket, power center who excels in the halfcourt. At first glance, eHarmony couldn’t have found a more ideal partner.
But by both widening the scope as well as focusing in on the details, this marriage could end up closer to Kardashian/Humphries than Grant and Tamia Hill.
After trading for Bynum, the Sixers roster is vastly different. The team’s two best defenders are now playing for other teams. Replacing the all-world athlete and defensive genius known as Andre Igoudala is Evan Turner. Turner is solid defensively, but has miles and miles to go before he approaches Igoudala’s skill on the opposite side of the ball.
Filling in for Elton Brand, who is a vastly underrated defender and shot blocker, is Spencer Hawes who is not a terrible defender at center (though he's not great either) but who will now be playing power forward, a position he has never played during his seven-year NBA career and one that he is ill-suited to excel in. He’s skilled and can hit from 15 to 20 feet out, but he’s also slow and unathletic. Today’s power forwards range from freak athletes like Blake Griffin and Josh Smith to stretch fours like Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Love. It’s not a huge leap to believe that Hawes will struggle guarding the position.
(On a side note, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Thad Young moves into the starting PF slot at some point this season and brings back the three-ball he completely abandoned two seasons ago.)
Jrue Holiday is a plus defender, or has the talent to be one, but with Igoudala and Louis Williams gone, and Royal Ivey the only other point guard on the team, Holiday will be exerting a ton of energy creating offense for himself and others. His defense, possession-to-possession, will most likely suffer.
Significantly downgrading your team’s biggest strength is hardly a way to win ball games.
Bynum himself is not the consistent defensive presence he should be. Sure, there are times (like the 10 blocks in game one against Denver in the 2012 Western Conference first round) where he looks like an absolute defensive juggernaut. But those performances were far too infrequent.
The reality is that Bynum is a mediocre defender night-in and night-out. The effort is consistently inconsistent. While Bynum is muscular and toned, he struggled to keep his energy up last season. Part of this could be due to the knee brace, part to a lack of a training camp, part to recovery from his knee ailments. The bottom line is that fatigue was a major factor. And he only played 2,112 minutes.
It is also becoming increasingly apparent that Bynum is ill-equipped to defend the speed and athleticism of today’s NBA. Bynum is nowhere near mobile enough to show on the pick-and-roll. Last year on such plays, he did one of two things. At times, he would hang back and let the ball handler shoot a wide open mid-range jumper (actually the Lakers designed preferred choice). Many more times, however, he would run out to contest the shot and then simply continue on up the court to establish position on offense. This was bad because it not only took him out of the defensive scheme, but it also removed his 7-foot frame from rebounding.
His lack of mobility is also apparent when speedy guards get into the lane. I can’t tell you how many times the Lakers got lit up for layups by small guards. Bynum seemed a step slow to challenge. With two seven footers roaming the lane, you’d think the Lakers would be one of the top teams at defending the paint. Instead, they gave up 41 ppg in the paint—ranking 19th in the league. While this was definitely not all Bynum’s fault, teams anchored by Howard, Tyson Chandler, and a healthy Andrew Bogut simply don’t give up those kinds of wide open looks—and Howard and Chandler played with worse defensive teammates. Case in point, the Knicks were ranked seventh and the Magic were ranked fifth in opponent points per game in the paint. Memphis with Marc Gasol, San Antonio with Tim Duncan, and Boston with Kevin Garnett gave up less points in the paint than the Lakers did last season. Ironically, the Sixers led the league in limiting their opponent's points in the paint, and as mentioned above, they are replacing one elite defender and one solid defender for a center who is far too consistent at not giving full effort.
Compounding the problem is the other new blood the Sixers have brought in. Jason Richardson, Nick Young, and Dorrell Wright grade out between poor and mediocre defensively. Richardson lacks lateral quickness, though is decent against bigger guards. Young has the tools, but has never learned to use them. And Wright is long, but inconsistent.
The Sixers ranked in the bottom five last year in three pointers made per game. J-Rich, Wright, and Young are all good three point shooters who will help space the floor for Bynum on the offensive end (legitimate three point shooters was something Bynum sorely lacked last year). But on the defensive side, they’re going to be routinely beaten.
The Orlando Magic found success by surrounding Howard with a bevy of three-point shooters even though they were mediocre to poor defenders. The Magic have either led the league or been second in three pointers made over the past four seasons. This style of play worked for the Magic because of how awesome Howard is defensively, able to cover up for the mistakes of all of his teammates.
As we’ve discussed, Bynum simply lacks the lateral movement, quickness, and motor this sort of defensive effort demands.While he has become adept at avoiding fouls (committed 1.93 fouls per 40 minutes, which is amazingly the least out of any frontcourt player) in order to stay on the floor, his lack of stamina is detrimental to his defensive effort, and thus detrimental to his team's defense.
So, Philly has gone from a terrifically fast, athletic, and active defensive team, to what will be a slow, plodding, mediocre defensive squad.
Part I
Part III
Enter Bynum, who is a traditional, back-to-the-basket, power center who excels in the halfcourt. At first glance, eHarmony couldn’t have found a more ideal partner.
But by both widening the scope as well as focusing in on the details, this marriage could end up closer to Kardashian/Humphries than Grant and Tamia Hill.
After trading for Bynum, the Sixers roster is vastly different. The team’s two best defenders are now playing for other teams. Replacing the all-world athlete and defensive genius known as Andre Igoudala is Evan Turner. Turner is solid defensively, but has miles and miles to go before he approaches Igoudala’s skill on the opposite side of the ball.
Filling in for Elton Brand, who is a vastly underrated defender and shot blocker, is Spencer Hawes who is not a terrible defender at center (though he's not great either) but who will now be playing power forward, a position he has never played during his seven-year NBA career and one that he is ill-suited to excel in. He’s skilled and can hit from 15 to 20 feet out, but he’s also slow and unathletic. Today’s power forwards range from freak athletes like Blake Griffin and Josh Smith to stretch fours like Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Love. It’s not a huge leap to believe that Hawes will struggle guarding the position.
(On a side note, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Thad Young moves into the starting PF slot at some point this season and brings back the three-ball he completely abandoned two seasons ago.)
Jrue Holiday is a plus defender, or has the talent to be one, but with Igoudala and Louis Williams gone, and Royal Ivey the only other point guard on the team, Holiday will be exerting a ton of energy creating offense for himself and others. His defense, possession-to-possession, will most likely suffer.
Significantly downgrading your team’s biggest strength is hardly a way to win ball games.
Bynum himself is not the consistent defensive presence he should be. Sure, there are times (like the 10 blocks in game one against Denver in the 2012 Western Conference first round) where he looks like an absolute defensive juggernaut. But those performances were far too infrequent.
The reality is that Bynum is a mediocre defender night-in and night-out. The effort is consistently inconsistent. While Bynum is muscular and toned, he struggled to keep his energy up last season. Part of this could be due to the knee brace, part to a lack of a training camp, part to recovery from his knee ailments. The bottom line is that fatigue was a major factor. And he only played 2,112 minutes.
It is also becoming increasingly apparent that Bynum is ill-equipped to defend the speed and athleticism of today’s NBA. Bynum is nowhere near mobile enough to show on the pick-and-roll. Last year on such plays, he did one of two things. At times, he would hang back and let the ball handler shoot a wide open mid-range jumper (actually the Lakers designed preferred choice). Many more times, however, he would run out to contest the shot and then simply continue on up the court to establish position on offense. This was bad because it not only took him out of the defensive scheme, but it also removed his 7-foot frame from rebounding.
His lack of mobility is also apparent when speedy guards get into the lane. I can’t tell you how many times the Lakers got lit up for layups by small guards. Bynum seemed a step slow to challenge. With two seven footers roaming the lane, you’d think the Lakers would be one of the top teams at defending the paint. Instead, they gave up 41 ppg in the paint—ranking 19th in the league. While this was definitely not all Bynum’s fault, teams anchored by Howard, Tyson Chandler, and a healthy Andrew Bogut simply don’t give up those kinds of wide open looks—and Howard and Chandler played with worse defensive teammates. Case in point, the Knicks were ranked seventh and the Magic were ranked fifth in opponent points per game in the paint. Memphis with Marc Gasol, San Antonio with Tim Duncan, and Boston with Kevin Garnett gave up less points in the paint than the Lakers did last season. Ironically, the Sixers led the league in limiting their opponent's points in the paint, and as mentioned above, they are replacing one elite defender and one solid defender for a center who is far too consistent at not giving full effort.
Compounding the problem is the other new blood the Sixers have brought in. Jason Richardson, Nick Young, and Dorrell Wright grade out between poor and mediocre defensively. Richardson lacks lateral quickness, though is decent against bigger guards. Young has the tools, but has never learned to use them. And Wright is long, but inconsistent.
The Sixers ranked in the bottom five last year in three pointers made per game. J-Rich, Wright, and Young are all good three point shooters who will help space the floor for Bynum on the offensive end (legitimate three point shooters was something Bynum sorely lacked last year). But on the defensive side, they’re going to be routinely beaten.
The Orlando Magic found success by surrounding Howard with a bevy of three-point shooters even though they were mediocre to poor defenders. The Magic have either led the league or been second in three pointers made over the past four seasons. This style of play worked for the Magic because of how awesome Howard is defensively, able to cover up for the mistakes of all of his teammates.
As we’ve discussed, Bynum simply lacks the lateral movement, quickness, and motor this sort of defensive effort demands.While he has become adept at avoiding fouls (committed 1.93 fouls per 40 minutes, which is amazingly the least out of any frontcourt player) in order to stay on the floor, his lack of stamina is detrimental to his defensive effort, and thus detrimental to his team's defense.
So, Philly has gone from a terrifically fast, athletic, and active defensive team, to what will be a slow, plodding, mediocre defensive squad.
Part I
Part III
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