Another Weird Month: Sixers Player By Player December Check-In

A look at how each 76ers player performed this month.

[photo: @Sixers]

Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, but that ban will be lifted in March of 2020. He is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.

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As each month typically is, this was a weird month of Sixers basketball. There were a few brutal low-points -- all four Sixers losses as of the time I’m writing this (before the Orlando, Miami and Indiana games) have been major eyesores. The Davis Bertans Game happened, as did blowouts at the hands of the Nets and Mavericks as well as a bitter loss against Jimmy Butler and the Heat. Yet still, it’s hard not to see this month as a resounding success for the Sixers -- they beat four great teams convincingly, including the one they really needed to beat, dominating the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day.

As we turn our calendars to January 2020, here are some takeaways from each Sixer’s month of December, with some long-term thoughts and concerns sprinkled throughout for good measure:

Joel Embiid 

Embiid has had a month filled with controversy that is, well, a bit odd to me. I’m not going to rehash what Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal said, because I’d imagine you’ve heard about it too many times already. However, I will chip with this perspective that seems to have been lost in the discussion about Embiid shooting too many jumpers -- Embiid has long been transparent about not enjoying taking so many jumpers. But he understands that it’s something he needs to do, particularly when playing next to Ben Simmons, in order to open up the floor. Playing with an initiator of offense who never takes jumpers necessitates more or less of a green light from Embiid. I don’t have too many thoughts aside from that, as most of the discourse seems silly to me.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Embiid’s defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo on Christmas Day, which was astounding. Embiid completely smothered the reigning league MVP. A player who typically dominates his opponents physically, Giannis was repeatedly stopped in his tracks by Joel. I put out a video of every shot attempt Giannis took with Embiid as his defender -- watch, and focus on how with little help, Embiid completely controls one of the most breathtaking athletes the league has seen in quite a long time. This was likely the most important regular season game of Embiid’s career, and he turned in the best defensive performance he has ever had. Quite a way to finish off a calendar year.

Ben Simmons

After a shaky start to the season offensively, Simmons hit his stride in a major way this month. He saw major increases in points per game (12.9 before December, 16.4 during December), FG% (52.5 before, 62.1 during), and TS% (55.1 before, 62.7 during). And the weird thing is that it seems like this has flown under the radar. The first point of every Simmons conversation pertains to whether or not he’s shooting threes (and it probably should!), but his marked progress, particularly as a scorer, should be recognized. 

The other end of the floor is where Simmons is really earning his paychecks this season. He’s been nothing short of incredible -- and likely the most valuable defensive player on the team this season. It’s not shocking that someone with his size, athleticism and basketball IQ has put it all together and become an elite defensive player. But to watch how, night in and night out, he takes on challenging assignments and handles them with ease, is remarkable. Simmons has had success against smaller, quicker guards like Donovan Mitchell and Bradley Beal, wings such as Jimmy Butler and even bigs like Pascal Siakam. Watching him defend has probably been my favorite part of this season. 

Ben’s flaws are glaring and important. They absolutely need to be discussed in any conversation about this team’s championship hopes. But don’t forget how damn good he is. 

Tobias Harris

My sincere apologies to AU, but there has perhaps been no bigger winner during this month of Sixers basketball than Tobias Harris, who is finally playing like the guy the Sixers traded for and then doubled down on with an $180M wager. Brett Brown has recently been calling him “steady,” and the description is apt -- Harris has been adding the offensive punch that is needed of him all month, scoring at least 15 points in every game save for one in the month of December. The numbers back up some significant strides in his production -- most notably, shooting over 40 percent on more than five three-point attempts per game -- but anecdotally, it seems like he’s been thinking the game at a higher level recently. He’s cutting down on those long size-ups that halt ball movement and in turn become a much faster decision-maker, a must for him given the makeup of the rest of this roster. His tendency for indecision had been leading to turnovers and an increasingly buffering offense, but with him becoming a faster decision-maker, the starting unit has started to feel like a more natural fit on the offensive end. Tobias is far from perfect, but this was by any measure a wonderful month for him.

Al Horford

Horford has had somewhat of a down month. He missed two games with injury, and probably came back a bit earlier than he should have. He is in the midst of a three-point shooting slump that has his season three-point percentage down to just 34.5, and despite consistently being guarded by much smaller players, he has attempted just six total free throws in the entire month of December. Horford has never been one to seek out foul calls, but for someone who is often being defended by smaller players, it is at least slightly concerning. 

However, there is great news: in the month of December, lineups featuring Horford at center alongside Ben Simmons outscored opponents by 81 points in 187 minutes, good for a gargantuan +18.6 Net Rating. The single most important thing Horford can do for this team is stabilize things when Joel Embiid isn’t on the floor. And thanks to the high-tempo, run and gun style of the Simmons-Horford lineups, the Sixers have managed to become much more than stable with Embiid on the bench -- they are flourishing. The impact Al Horford has on winning simply cannot be measured with typical counting stats, as we at The Rights To Ricky Sanchez have been telling anyone who would listen for years now -- even dating back to his days with the Hawks.

Josh Richardson

If we were assigning grades for December performance, J-Rich would probably get an incomplete, as he missed four games due to injury. But as much as I enjoy Richardson, he hasn’t inspired much confidence in me over the last four weeks. Unless sweeping changes are made to this roster, Richardson is going to be the player tasked with initiating offense at the ends of playoff games. And though his confidence is admirable, it has not translated to the kind of offensive production the Sixers have likely been hoping for. And this month in particular was rough, with Richardson shooting well below 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range. The nine-game sample will certainly not define his season, but the Sixers are going to be asking for a lot of Richardson later on in the year beyond his defense. Aside from a few standout performances (games against Miami, Oklahoma City and Utah come to mind), he has mostly been stagnant offensively. I feel obligated to mention that he has still clearly had a positive impact on this team, thanks in large part to his tenacity as a defender. But eventually, the Sixers will need more from him.

Matisse Thybulle

Thybulle’s knee injury comes at a particularly tough time, as his December performance was almost unimaginably good. He shot a comical 54.5 percent from three-point range, and did it on a reasonable amount of attempts. I still am not quite sure how he’s shooting the ball this well -- his jumper has never been a strength -- and at times it’s been a weakness -- but the Sixers should keep riding it until the regression comes. That means once he’s healthy, Thybulle should get the same kind of minutes he was this month -- 22 minutes per game -- if not more, depending on the performance of the other wings. His shooting and defense helped swing two close games into wins against great teams in the Raptors and Nuggets. After an up-and-down November that included a brief benching, Thybulle solidified himself as a legitimate rotation piece this month.

James Ennis III

I entered this season skeptical of Ennis III, even after his valuable contributions throughout the Toronto series. But he has continued to solidify himself as a trustworthy defender, becoming more and more worthy of Brett Brown’s respect. The month of December wasn’t kind to him, as he regressed hard from his hot start as a shooter. But we know what Ennis III is, and that in itself is valuable: he is a decent defender, capable shooter, and the best offensive rebounder in the history of basketball. Here’s a fun stat: 43 players in the NBA have played at least 500 total minutes this season and pulled down at least 3.3 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions. James Ennis III is the only one of the 43 who is not a big man.

Furkan Korkmaz

Korkmaz briefly surrendered his place as one of the first two wings off the bench to Thybulle, but since Thybulle’s injury has stepped up in a major way. Korkmaz had a wonderful month of shooting the ball, maintaining respectable three-point volume (3.5 attempts per game) while making well over 40 percent of his attempts. And despite occasionally being overpowered defensively, Korkmaz’s mind seems to always be in the right place, helping him to get a surprising amount of deflections (including a few against the Bucks). There is no doubt that the Sixers need at least one confident spot-up shooter other than Mike Scott, and so far that has been Korkmaz. There is a trade scenario I can envision involving Korkmaz that I will touch on next, but don’t get it twisted: Furkan is a legitimate asset now. He’s a young player with obvious shooting ability who is on a non-guaranteed minimum contract for next season. The Sixers have quite a few small contracts, but Korkmaz should be one they try to hang onto if they can.

Raul Neto / Trey Burke

It’s Quiet Tournament Season! After taking a stronghold of the backup point guard job when Josh Richardson struggled, Neto has relinquished that spot to Burke for now, who has given the Sixers some nice minutes of late, finally giving some of the scoring that everyone imagined him bringing to the table. It’s safe to say that Burke has the edge in this race for now, but if both players are still around in February, my money is on Neto eventually separating himself as the right option. 

So, since we are getting close to the Trade Deadline, here’s the trade scenario I’ve talked myself into: the Sixers could bolster their rotation a good bit if they turned the backup point guard spot and the Korkmaz spot into one player, a combo-guard who could log 18-22 minutes per game, run the offense when Simmons is off the floor, and become a spot-up shooter when playing next to him. This doesn’t necessarily mean trading Korkmaz, though it almost definitely means shipping out at least one of Neto and Burke. Just think of how beneficial it would be to have someone like, as an example, DJ Augustin -- a perfectly capable point guard who can run the offense, has a track record of being a knock-down three-point shooter, and will sprinkle in some playmaking every now and then. It doesn’t have to be Augustin specifically, though he does make a lot of sense. But the Sixers should be trying to find someone of that mold.

Kyle O’Quinn / Norvel Pelle

After O’Quinn’s impressive preseason, there were some hopes that he could be a regular in the rotation, even with the presence of Embiid and Horford. But those hopes seem to have quickly evaporated, with the signing looking more and more like a flop. O’Quinn has tangible skills that should prove valuable, but the unfortunate truth is that the team has not been good on either end of the floor when he is called upon. He has been noticeably immobile as an interior defender, hindering his ability to protect the rim.

Norvel Pelle is not ready to be a trusted member of a rotation yet, but boy is he fun. Pelle is like the version of Richaun Holmes that played here but with every single quality -- frame, highlight block and dunk potential, athleticism, and propensity to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time defensively -- dialed up two or three notches. He still has some major room for improvement, but Pelle’s physical gifts are staggering, and it’s hard to imagine there isn’t an NBA caliber player in there somewhere -- it’s on the Sixers to tap into the obvious potential that exists.

With trade season approaching and the Sixers lacking medium-sized salaries to make trades work easily, they will almost certainly attempt to package two or three of their minimum players into a bench upgrade. Given O’Quinn’s standing within the team, it’s likely that he will be someone who the Sixers hope can be salary filler in a deal. If that happens, don’t be surprised if the Sixers use an open roster spot to convert Pelle’s two-way contract into a multi-year NBA deal -- Pelle will run out of NBA days eventually, and the Sixers seem to value his presence. And even if they fail to open up a roster spot with a trade, I could see them waiving O’Quinn in order to sign Pelle to a deal.

Mike Scott

Scott had a few noticeably tough outings this month, but all in all put together a solid body of work. The bulk of his value to this team hinges on the amount of his three-point attempts go in, and in December, he made 41.5 percent of his 53 tries from long range (4.1 attempts per game). That is about all you can ask for from a player like Scott.

Because of his easily movable salary ($4.7M), Scott has become the most popular entrant into trade machine ideas (barely edging out Zhaire Smith). But I would caution those ready to move Scott that he is legitimately valuable to this team -- Scott is as decisive as they come, a trait that the Sixers should desperately be coveting from those tasked with being the supporting cast of Embiid and Simmons. So while I’m certainly not suggesting that Scott should be untouchable at the deadline, I think it’s something that the Sixers should think hard about before doing. 

Jonah Bolden

Not much to report on the Jonah Bolden front! It has become increasingly tougher to imagine him having much of a future with the Sixers, making him an obvious trade candidate. He has played just four NBA minutes all season, and none of those came in December. Bolden is clearly trade bait at some point, as the Sixers will hope someone is interested in his size, athleticism and occasionally present shooting ability. He will likely be gone by the deadline, and if not then, by the start of next season, when his contract is non-guaranteed. 

Zhaire Smith

When the Sixers elected to trade Mikal Bridges and invest in Zhaire Smith, they knew Zhaire wasn’t polished and that he needed time to develop. And while I understand some of the nervousness about him still being in the G-League, I’m not selling stock just yet. After what happened last season, it’s unfair to consider this a sophomore year for Smith. The Sixers drafted a very raw player in need of reps at a lower level, and that’s what he’s getting. He could very well end up simply not becoming the player a lot of people hoped for, but I wouldn’t hit the panic button just yet.

Shake Milton

Milton only played in two December games, one of which for less than a minute. He remains a developmental project for this team, with a theoretical skill set that fits the modern NBA but still without any sort of tangible production. It’s worth investing time in Milton, as tall ball-handlers who can shoot threes and have long arms don’t grow on trees. But you probably shouldn’t be holding out any for any contributions from him anytime soon.