OKC Thunder face reeling Philadelphia 76ers – game preview
Perimeter deficiency:
Although most of the offseason focus revolved around the loss of Jimmy Butler, equally detrimental was the exit of J.J. Redick.
Reddick was vital to the 7ers starting rotation. His perimeter prowess opened the court for everyone. Unlike many teams who send their snipers to the corners where they stand stationary Reddick functions similarly to Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. This trio is more dangerous than the average 3-point specialists because they reposition themselves repeatedly during an offensive possession.
His constant movement forced opposing defenses to assign defenders who are also in constant motion. At times it can look chaotic, but that’s the point it limits the effectiveness of defenses who prefer to function on a string.
Although the loss of Reddick hurts, this situation runs deeper. Scanning the 76ers top 10 perimeter shooters (in terms of efficiency) from last season with a minimum of 10 games played and at least one 3-point attempted, only three remain.
| Rk | G | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% ▼ |
PTS/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Jonathon Simmons | 15 | 1.9 | 4.3 | .453 | 0.6 | 1.4 | .429 | 5.5 |
| 4 | Mike Scott | 27 | 2.8 | 7.0 | .400 | 1.8 | 4.4 | .412 | 7.8 |
| 5 | Landry Shamet | 54 | 2.8 | 6.4 | .441 | 1.8 | 4.5 | .404 | 8.3 |
| 6 | J.J. Redick | 76 | 5.9 | 13.5 | .440 | 3.2 | 8.0 | .397 | 18.1 |
| 7 | Robert Covington | 13 | 3.8 | 9.0 | .427 | 2.3 | 5.9 | .390 | 11.3 |
| 8 | Wilson Chandler | 36 | 2.5 | 5.8 | .440 | 1.3 | 3.3 | .390 | 6.7 |
| 10 | Jonah Bolden | 44 | 1.8 | 3.7 | .494 | 0.8 | 2.2 | .354 | 4.7 |
| 11 | Mike Muscala | 47 | 2.3 | 5.9 | .392 | 1.4 | 4.2 | .342 | 7.4 |
| 12 | Jimmy Butler | 55 | 6.3 | 13.6 | .461 | 0.9 | 2.7 | .338 | 18.2 |
| 15 | Tobias Harris | 27 | 6.9 | 14.8 | .469 | 1.6 | 5.0 | .326 | 18.2 |
| 16 | Furkan Korkmaz | 48 | 2.0 | 5.1 | .400 | 1.0 | 3.0 | .326 | 5.8 |
| 17 | Shake Milton | 20 | 1.7 | 4.4 | .391 | 0.7 | 2.2 | .318 | 4.4 |
| 18 | James Ennis | 18 | 1.9 | 4.6 | .410 | 0.6 | 2.0 | .306 | 5.3 |
| 19 | Joel Embiid | 64 | 9.1 | 18.7 | .484 | 1.2 | 4.1 | .300 | 27.5 |
| 20 | Dario Šarić | 13 | 3.7 | 10.2 | .364 | 1.6 | 5.4 | .300 | 11.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/25/2019.
This season, each of those players has regressed in their efficiency, again likely due to the loss of Reddick and Butler who afforded everyone more flexibility. Comparing this season to last the numbers highlight the issues Philly suffers from deep:
| Rk | G | MP | 3P | 3PA | 3P% ▼ |
PTS/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matisse Thybulle | 30 | 17.6 | 1.0 | 2.2 | .463 | 4.8 |
| 2 | Trey Burke | 18 | 14.9 | 0.7 | 1.6 | .448 | 7.0 |
| 3 | Raul Neto | 30 | 11.2 | 0.5 | 1.3 | .421 | 3.9 |
| 5 | Furkan Korkmaz | 36 | 20.5 | 1.6 | 4.2 | .377 | 8.3 |
| 6 | James Ennis | 36 | 17.7 | 0.9 | 2.5 | .360 | 6.7 |
| 7 | Josh Richardson | 29 | 31.8 | 1.8 | 5.1 | .354 | 14.8 |
| 8 | Tobias Harris | 37 | 34.3 | 1.6 | 4.6 | .343 | 19.5 |
| 9 | Mike Scott | 37 | 18.4 | 1.2 | 3.5 | .341 | 5.8 |
| 10 | Al Horford | 33 | 30.6 | 1.4 | 4.0 | .338 | 12.2 |
| 12 | Joel Embiid | 30 | 31.0 | 1.3 | 3.8 | .330 | 23.6 |
| 13 | Shake Milton | 11 | 9.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | .227 | 4.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/5/2020.
Notably, the best perimeter shooter is rookie Matisse Thybulle who is out injured. While Trey Burke, Raul Neto and Furkan Korkmaz all post decent perimeter efficiency you’ll note they play the fewest minutes on the team and other than Korkmaz aren’t volume shooters.
The best shooter among the starters is Josh Richardson but even he can be streaky. Each of Harris, Scott, and Horford has significantly regressed. Embiid has made slight improvements from 30 percent to 33 percent and Ben Simmons who promised to let fly this season has five attempts (two makes) to date.
Tobias Harris got paid this offseason presumably to fill this gap but his 34.3 percent marksmanship falls well short of expectations.
That’s not to say the Thunder should abandon defending the perimeter because reserves Furkan Korkmaz and Mike Scott can get hot in a New York minute. Rather, the emphasis should be on stopping the 76ers from getting out in transition where Ben Simmons is at his most effective.