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, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Hello and welcome once again to Three Normal Things! Here’s what’s on my mind tonight:
#1: Danny Green and shooting versatility
I’ve written about Green’s two-way effectiveness on many occasions, but he has been especially impactful over the last month or so. He’s shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc, but that’s not the most important part. What sets him apart from the pack is how versatile of a shooter he is. Green has spent most of the year leading the NBA in corner threes. But he is also comfortable from above the break. Additionally, Green is not just an open spot-up shooter. He is comfortable letting it fly over a contest, even when he’s being smothered by a defender in the area.
Admittedly, Green was quiet tonight. But this is something I’ve been thinking about for weeks — Green has had a phenomenal year by my standards. He’s done everything a role player is supposed to do.
I don’t think it’s difficult to figure out that Seth Curry is the best shooter on the Sixers. But for my money, Green is the more valuable shooter thanks to his lightning-quick trigger and unbeaten confidence — and the last several weeks have proven it.
#2: Zion Williamson is a gameplan-wrecker
I typically try to stick to Sixers-specific storylines, but my lord Zion Williamson looks incredible. His combination of speed, athleticism, size and strength is downright absurd. The Pelicans and their bizarre roster have been fun to watch this season, with their prodigious power forward being the biggest reason why.
Zion asserted himself early, using his strength and quick first step to score against Ben Simmons. When Simmons wasn’t in the game, Zion’s brute force made Doc Rivers elect to go to a zone defense, which didn’t do much either. Down the stretch, it was Matisse Thybulle and then Green who both tried (and failed) to stop Zion.
Williamson is a walking matchup nightmare, and he tortured the Sixers all night long.
#3: Tobias-centric bench lineup struggles
One of the reasons the Sixers were able to thrive in the month of March without Joel Embiid available was the way second unit lineups thrived, often being led by Tobias Harris. Rivers was able to deploy heavy- or entire-bench lineups and trust that those units could hold up.
Tonight, in what was a rough game from pretty much all of the Sixers’ starters, only Furkan Korkmaz and Shake Milton were able to give the Sixers anything close to positive minutes. Dwight Howard struggled to leave an imprint on the game and Matisse Thybulle was no match for Williamson.
All of that combined with a rough night for Tobias Harris led to the team’s downfall when putting their bench units on the floor.