How LeBron James and the 76ers can make this work
LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. Even if it's been days, it still feels appropriate to type that out and let the new reality sink in. LeBron's "last decision" was about joy, and apparently there is nothing more joyful than working to compete for a championship.
The thing that sticks out to me about his choice is the challenge ahead. The Sixers have been eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals in six of their last eight playoff appearances. They have not been to the NBA Finals since 2001 and have not won a championship since 1983. But if you look at this Sixers roster, you can see why LeBron believes he can elevate this team to a championship.
Last season, the Sixers saw Joel Embiid and Paul George both play less than 38 games, but they still ended up winning 45 games and beating the Celtics in the first round before losing to the eventual champion Knicks. That team added Jaylen Brown, and all of that has led us to LeBron James, vet minimum. It's important to hammer that point home: you're not really supposed to have all of these players together. You're not supposed to have LeBron James, vet minimum.
So, how is this going to work for the Sixers?
How LeBron fits with Philly's attack
I can understand worrying about usage and roles, and we'll get there. But before you look at this unit from a pure "here are the five on the graphic" standpoint, let's dial it into the Sixers' context.
Part of the growth for the Sixers last season was going with more movement, flow and drive-and-kick to unlock Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. That gave the team a base as it worked to manage Embiid's availability throughout the season. And when Embiid was available, we then saw how he could elevate the Sixers in the half-court, working in the two-man game, but also forcing teams to help or double once he started scoring.
Adding Brown and his 19.1 drives per game (second in the NBA last year) to the mix would seem to enhance the Sixers' attack. And if you thought they needed a playmaker and a facilitator, the answer being LeBron James stands out. Adding his versatility and passing should really help elevate things.
In transition, we know Maxey, Brown and Edgecombe can push, and we know LeBron still has no problem getting out and running after last year. If he grabs and goes, it could ignite throw-aheads to any of those three. In the half-court, he can work in pick-and-roll, in the post, or at the elbow to help unlock the Sixers' movement. His ability to get it to the post will be key, but it's a rare world where James doesn't grab the attention of defenses and play off their decisions.
The big key feels like the unlocking of Maxey off-ball. As much as he's grown on-ball, he simply won't have to carry the same amount of weight. Allowing Maxey to fly off pindowns, staggers or flares while maintaining his ability to get downhill should be a win.
Another benefit of Maxey and LeBron: running two-man game and pick-and-roll together. Using Maxey as a screener for LeBron should poke at if a defense wants to switch or not. Show and recover should allow Maxey the ability to pop and get a shot or a drive. You can even reverse it and use LeBron as a screener, have a coverage bust and it's LeBron on the short roll.
How the Sixers build the boat offensively will be the big key to how much this works:
What is the overall tempo and flow going to look like? How much movement will they get to? How do they maximize Embiid posting up? When do they mix in Brown attacks? Where do they get to unlocking Brown as an off-ball cutter? How much do they balance working to force the defense to help vs. flowing and moving to ensure it happens?
(If I know Nick Nurse like I think I do, that first weave action that involves LeBron, Brown and Maxey with Embiid rolling is going to be something.)
The positive outlook feels like it will outshine the work it will take. That doesn't mean the work will not have to be put in.
Additional benefits from LeBron's arrival
As important as the starting five will be for their ceiling, the Sixers will be able to stagger and split the talent throughout the ball game. Substitutions exist.
While the question marks surround how much they can scale down, they'll all be in scenarios where they have the chance to scale up. We've seen Maxey + bench lineups, we've seen Brown in different lineups in Boston, what LeBron did without Luka Dončić/Austin Reaves, etc. The Sixers should be able to supplement their bench with talent. How that rotation shakes out is important, but if you're working to manage Embiid and want to lower LeBron's minutes, everyone should help each other. Remember the concern about Maxey and VJ having to play 38+ minutes? LeBron's arrival should ease that.
That taps into an underrated benefit for this Sixers group: having four players who have received gameplan defenses at some point in time. Embiid, Maxey, Brown and LeBron have all been a focal point of a coaches meeting. Being able to use each other as counters should in theory help everyone.
(While the concern for Edgecombe may be that he's spaced in the corner, he's someone who can benefit from playing off everyone around him.)
I understand wondering how the shots will be distributed, but have we considered high-usage players might like being able to have other players they trust taking shots? We've seen the Sixers be really intentional with their spacing around Embiid. We've seen teams try to figure out if they want to stay at home or show help and double. If you double and it's LeBron one pass away, Brown two passes on the opposite wing and Maxey in the opposite corner you could see how the Sixers may be set up to punish teams in rotation.
We saw how much Boston tried to sell out to take away Maxey in pick-and-roll, working to mix in early nail help or putting two on the ball. It's a little different if there is a threat of LeBron cutting or a kick to Brown, who can attack a closeout.
As important as 3-point shooting is in today's NBA, it's easy to point to the Sixers' lineup and wonder where exactly that may come from. I understand that spacing will be key, but my counter would be this: Is the concern the ability to make shots or the ability to generate quality looks?
With the talent, pressure points and matchups the Sixers can hit, it's hard to imagine them not finding ways to get a quality look up. My bigger concern always lies in the shots you can create vs. the shots you can make.
What are the big questions for Philly?
One of the biggest question marks is what this Sixers team is going to be able to do defensively. The positive for adding LeBron is he should be in a scenario to highlight his defensive strengths — communication, weakside help, roaming and rotating. But can the Sixers build enough of a team defense to make that work and can they add enough versatility throughout the season to prepare for the playoffs?
We saw last year vs. Boston (and to a lesser degree New York) the idea for Philadelphia was to be active and physical, working to deny, and relying on effort to make up for issues. Can this group hit those same notes consistently? How many lumps are the Sixers willing to take during the regular season to have different things they can get to in the playoffs? How much of that relies on the version of Embiid that they get?
And that might be the most important piece of this: What does LeBron mean for Embiid?
We know there will be chemistry in pick-and-roll, we know he'll get the ball in the post, and the two-man game will be strong. But this feels like a cloud hanging in the sky. Health is going to be key for the Sixers; it's going to be especially key for Embiid.
Even at less than full strength Embiid reminded us how he could elevate the Sixers against Boston in the playoffs. But he also reminded us against the Knicks that, if he is not close to full strength, it can get very tough defensively.
How much of the health question is availability vs. mobility? Having LeBron on the weakside when he's in pick-and-roll could make Embiid more decisive. But will he be able to get back to the form where he could pick, choose and mix his defensive coverages to match what the Sixers needed? If he can't regain his form defensively, that could lower the ceiling of this group.
Which brings me to one last thought: How do the Sixers balance being a team built for the playoffs more than the regular season? Make no mistake, this is a team that will need the regular season to become as sharp as possible on both ends for the playoff run. For as much pressure as they could put on smaller guards, smaller lineups or teams unsure of how they want to guard, they will have to be just as dialed in on the other end of the floor. How much work can they put in during the regular season to be able to dictate terms in the playoffs?
That's part of why I think LeBron took this specific challenge, to see if he can use his knowledge of the game, his scoring and his passing ability to elevate this Sixers group. This is a one-of-one scenario, a chance to not just bring a title back to Philadelphia, but to place the final stone in the gauntlet.
