'We're Going To Be Trouble': New-Look Sixers Expected To Wreak Havoc On NBA Defensively
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) — The old adage "defense wins championships" may be the slogan for the 2019-20 Philadelphia 76ers. Nearly every player that spoke ahead of the beginning of training camp talked about this team's potential on the defensive end of the court.
According to NBA.com, the Sixers were the seventh-best defensive team at the end of last season, giving up only 109 points per game. That number lowered in the playoffs where teams were only scoring 106 points per contest.
Many of the new players come in with a reputation of playing hard on both sides of the court and now this defense has the chance to wreak havoc on the NBA.
"That was one of the first things I thought about when I looked at our roster and the potential that we have," newly-acquired Al Horford says. "The fun thing is that our defense, we'll all going to have each other's back and we all know we have the ability to cover individually... we're going to be trouble."
With a potential starting five where the shortest player in Josh Richardson is 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, this year's Sixers is one of the most unique and dynamic teams in the league. And even players potentially coming off the bench see how special this roster's defensive makeup is.
"We just have so much length and if you don't play defense with that kind of length, it's kind of embarrassing, like what are we doing out there?" veteran Kyle O'Quinn told reporters.
He went on to say that he feels that guys really want to play defense because it can lead to more chances on offense.
As new players become acclimated to the Sixers' style of play, they say other teams noticed how tenacious Philadelphia was defensively the last few years. Especially Richardson, who played against the Sixers while he with the Miami Heat during the 2017-18 playoff series.
"The biggest thing I've seen from this team since I've been in the league is that it's always a fight, they're not going to let you out-tough them. And they had a lot of skill to go along with that toughness," Richardson said.
Trey Burke even added to the idea of this team's defensive potential after being around the league for a few years.
"Sky's the limit for what we could be defensively as a team and I'm on board with that as well," he says. "As far as the pieces we have, we could be special, obviously with Joel Embiid protecting the paint and I think it'll start with the mentality of the point guards as well... picking up full court and not letting them get comfortable."
The Sixers have all the right pieces in place on paper to make it a nightmare for other teams to score the ball. Now, it all comes down to implementing the right scheme to accommodate to this unique collection of players who have the length, height and athleticism.
If all things go right, this team will represent what the city of Philadelphia is -- hardworking, gritty and not afraid to do the dirty work to win.
