Couple of notes from yesterdays practice that I found interesting:
Seems like they really are looking forward to deploying Tucker as the #5 in certain matchups, Doc specifically mentioned "imagine having Gobert having to defend Tucker in the corner and someone like Tisse rolling....we can scheme some unusual looks this year with the depth we have." that isnt an exact quote...but thats basically what he said lol.
I think Doc will have a TON of options this regular season and with the depth we have we should be able to keep guys fresh for the playoffs. Will be very interesting, the Embiid/Horford 4/5 looks obviously failed miserably, and Paul Reed is currently like 2/13 or something shooting 3's...but with his motor and being a tweaner, the idea of him attacking the glass and being a disrupter could be interesting. If Trez plays defense like he did in his brief stint in washington last year, that would be an amazing development for us as well....would definitely help with load management for Joel.
Also I think we might have undersold what Melton is going to bring to this team. Apparently he kind of ruined a portion of practice as he was so disruptive on D that they couldnt run the install period for the set they were trying out. If Melton can shoot around 40% 3's, and take a load off of maxey/harden that is going to do wonders for both of them. While I have no doubt in transition he is a huge asset, I think I am still in a wait and see approach as to how he will fit into the half court offense. This is where Doc plays a big role. He needs Melton and House to FULLY buy into their roles, and once again, blame doc for in game adjustments all you want but I will stand by my stance that this is one of the hardest things for NBA coaches to do as ego in the NBA is unlike any other sport (personally I think this is due to NBA starter money + only 5 starters + culture). If Doc can get House and Melton to buy into the "controlled havoc" role he refers to (basically his version of 3+D but moreso sprinting to the right spots in transition), this team is going to score a lot of points.
Lets give Tobi his flowers. We've covered this a billion times, but its not his fault he is getting paid as much as he is and I love everything about his mindset this year and his ability to put the team first. Having someone as selfless as that is a huge asset, and after a full offseason of doing nothing but basically catch and shoot 3's, I am expecting Tobi to play the "connector" role flawlessly.
No need to even discuss maxey/harden/embiid. the sky is the limit for what that trio can do with the pieces around them. actually I lied I am going to discuss one quick thing on the Embiid/Harden PnR. If you have been following sixers practice, you will have heard "8 out of 10" many times already. That is referring to how many times Embiid needs the ball in the Harden PnR. Harden thinks they are close, but mentioned they feel "good" but thinks the relationship on the PnR can be and needs to be "dominant." Lets hope that PnR game takes the next step...we talked about it last year and the results were really good in the 22 games they had together, but the best version of their PnR (as 2 of the best 1 on 1 players in the entire NBA) has yet to be seen and I for one am expecting to see it this year....and if it as good as I think it will be, that is going to be a beautiful thing to watch this year.
Edit: from today
