The Philadelphia 76ers already have very lofty goals for next season. By virtue of their uber-talented starting lineup in account of the reinforcements they brought in this offseason, they are basically staring at a championship-or-bust campaign. That being said, while their opening group is probably already set, their closing lineup leaves room for adjustments, especially on the defensive end. Heck, their best lineup on defesnse might actually force the coaching staff into an unexpected crisis.
On paper, this team’s best defensive lineup will probably involve Dean Wade, who was one of their major additions this summer. The versatile forward brings size and switchability on D while being a respectable floor-spacer, and those are traits that could especially prove to be valuable to a star-studded 76ers squad in need of low-usage players who can still have a high impact on games.
76ers might have a coaching crisis thanks to their best defensive lineup
If the 76ers need more defensive resistance to close out games and Wade forms part of their closing lineup, Nick Nurse and the coaching staff will then have to make a tough decision as to which starter should hit the bench in Wade’s stead. Obviously, given the names on their opening five, that is a pretty tall task to execute.
One might say that VJ Edgecombe should get immediate consideration to get swapped out for Wade, but that is not entirely accurate. The incoming sophomore is actually one of the best defenders on the team, especially at the point of attack. The coaches will want to have his agility and speed to make them more disruptive, especially out in the perimeter.
It doesn’t get any easier from here on out. Obviously, Joel Embiid remains this team’s best deterrent at the rim despite his declining lateral quickness. LeBron James has admittedly waned on defense, but he is still someone who can turn it up when the need arises. Oh, and you simply do not bench your most battle-tested and clutch warrior to finish games.
Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey are better known for their scoring, but they are far from being shabby defenders themselves. It is also a very tough proposition to sell the coaches on benching one of those players, even if only situationally.
As established, the 76ers will be facing a very tricky situation when it comes to putting out their best defensive lineup to finish contests. Dean Wade is simply that valuable on D, but all of the players he could replace in the closing lineup are also way too good to bench at the end of games. As such, it will be very interesting to see how Nick Nurse and the coaching staff intends to solve this very good problem.
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