FanPost

Motion or Triangle for New Look Sixers?

(Please be kind: this is my first attempt at a post)

Sixers fans are being asked forced to be patient. This is tough for fans of a team in a league that is continuously falling into a rabbit hole of immediacy (some sort of vortex that is starting to transcend even the construction of time), rougher for someone who at this point can't sleep without seeing some bizarre future version of the Sixers with a prime Hakeem, Garnett, Bird, Penny, and Kawhi (can't get too greedy here). While the Summer Leagues are fun to watch, they only satiate Sixers hope for a few hours; one can't help but ponder what the future may hold for the blue and red. Here's an attempt to look a few years down the road to what the young Sixers offense may look like.

First things first--if the Sixers keep the Noel and Embiid pairing (a defensive fo'fo'fo wet dream), Brett Brown needs to ditch the motion offense and run a triangle with his two bigs to uncork the team's full offensive potential. Here's a look why:

The Motion:

In the most basic motion offense (which was about the extent of what Philly was able to run this past season), there is only one player in the deep of the offensive set--four out, one in:

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via media.philly.com

The point of the motion offense is to afford maximum spacing. This can be for a ball-handler to wreak havoc on drives to attack the basket (or to pass it out when doubled to wherever the help is coming from). It also allows maximum spacing for a big to either take his man in the post or to pass to a shooter/driver if help comes. Spencer Hawes (5) is the obvious big in this set. The other big in this scenario is Thaddeus Young (4) in the 'trailer' position. As the play develops, the trailer will swing the ball around the set and set screens for cutting wings around the elbows. If the defense caves, the trailer is supposed to put up an outside shot or take his man off the dribble (while Big Spence was still in the 215, he actually semi-excelled in the trailer position as it asked him to do everything but bang inside).

(Everything that's about to follow assumes Embiid comes into his own, with no injury issues, and transforms into Hakeem 2.0.--and that's going to happen, damnit--which means he would have to be the big under the basket.)

Now I know we've all been told that Noel has been tirelessly working on his jumpshot, but I suspect teams will consider their defensive set a success if it ends with Nerlens' straight-armed j (seriously, can that release be any possibly higher than it is?). Noel also makes Demarcus Cousins look like Chris Paul with the amount of turnovers he forces when trying to make a move anywhere beyond six feet of the basket (I know, I know, it's only been a few games. But still.). It's hard to envision Noel ever becoming a strong trailer, and if your team has championship aspirations, you need your players to excel in their roles--as the hackneyed expression goes, weaknesses get exposed on a different level in the playoffs. Ironically, Saric is the ideal trailer in a motion set, so it causes one to wonder if Brett Brown is dead-set on this system and whether that means the Sixers will look to move Noel in search of wings (and who can really blame him--everyone just watched the Spurs demolish the league running the motion to perfection. It's also worth noting San Antonio ditched their starting 5 that included Duncan and Splitter to create more spacing--Diaw is perfect for this offense).

There is a 3 out--2 in version of the motion (this is what Bill Self runs at Kansas so Embiid would be familiar with how it works), but it's uncommon to see in the NBA as it was constructed to defeat zone defenses and offers poor spacing for drivers. It also places a premium on outside shooting, and unless the 76 have a secret mutant Chip Engelland they're waiting to unleash on all of their young athletes, that's going to pose a problem.

The Triangle:

Before we dive into the triangle, a quick note--there are a lot of parallels between these two offenses, which leads to similar looking outcomes between the two offensive sets. Both offenses preach ball movement, and capitalize on contracting defenses due to the amount of space between each player. I don't buy into the whole zen thing with the triangle, that it's a way of life rather than an offensive system, but it does value (beyond spacing and ball/player movement) offensive rebounding and defensive balance.

For anyone who needs a quick refresher, the 'triangle' refers to the spacing on the court.

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via 1.bp.blogspot.com

With the most important triangle existing on the strong side of the court:

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via 3.bp.blogspot.com

In a dream scenario, the Sixers would have Joel Embiid in the post, K.J McDaniels in the corner, Dario Saric as the defensive balance above the top of the key, Nerlens Noel as the weakside wing, and MCDUBS as the key (the key refers to the man on the wing, because his move and initial pass holds the 'key' to the entire offensive possession).

The post is the most important aspect of the triangle since it is the easiest way to penetrate the defense (unless you have Michael Jordan. Then Michael Jordan is the most important aspect of the triangle). The triangle ensures that Embiid will get as many looks as possible to dream shake his way past the Brook Lopez's of the world, as well as the entire slew of 'centers' in today's NBA. This offense will be useful for McDaniels, who has the makings of a terrific 3-D guy down the road, to set up shop in the corner. Saric would literally be playing the exact role Lamar Odom played for the Lakers in their triangle, a player he has compared himself to. The defensive balance is crucial to the offense to be able to read the defense from the top of the halfcourt and to redirect the offense in the case of the defense overloading the strong side of the court (a la Tom Thibodeau). It allows Nerlens Noel to pray on offensive rebounds, or to take his man in the post (only needed if there is too much traffic on the opposite side of the court, meaning Noel won't be asked to pass regularly and won't be surrounded by opponents). It also plays to MCDUBS strength to take his man to the hole with the hope of slightly bringing over a big for a dumpoff (the triangle has really only ever won a championship with a point who can hit a three, though MCDUBS will play more of a shooting guard role here). What the Sixers will have is size in the future, and this offense kills the offensive glass (beyond the two posts, the corner and key often crash the boards depending on how the play develops). This is something Philadelphia must capitalize on, they need to play to their strengths.

This is a very simplistic view of what the triangle attempts to accomplish--I won't dive into the read and react side of things, the whole 'no playbook' idea. I also won't delve into the two-man system on the weakside, and what that could potentially look like. What's most important here is that in the basic, play #1 sets of these two offenses, there really is no question that for the players the Sixers currently have in the pipeline, the triangle will be more effective. It will be interesting to see if Brett Brown will either adapt with the players as they come up, or if the Sixers make moves to find players that fit more of the Spurs mold. Sam Hinkie and Brown are smart basketball guys (certainly much smarter than I am), and I have no doubt that they've already had these discussions. Regardless of what happens, the future is not only exciting, but many changes will still be made before we as fans have any idea what our future NBA champions will look like.

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