Early Look At Potential Sixers Lineup For 2019-20 Season

The ‘running it back’ plan that many Sixers fans were hoping for didn't quite go as planned.

Philadelphia has a new look to its roster going into the 2019-20 season, with two major changes to the starting lineup.

The Sixers are sticking with their core of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, but made several tweaks to the lineup, that will give them a new look entering the 2019-2020 season.

For now, let’s take a look at a potential lineup with everyone healthy and ready to play on opening night

PG: Ben Simmons, Raul Neto/Shake Milton
SG: Josh Richardson, Zhaire Smith, Matisse Thybulle, Marial Shayok
SF: Tobias Harris, James Ennis
PF: Al Horford, Mike Scott
C: Joel Embiid, Kyle O'Quinn, Johah Bolden

Notes:

- A major question will be who will have the ball in their hands with the clock wining down? Jimmy Butler did a lot of the closeout stuff late in games during his time here, but none of the current guys has ever been looked at as the first scoring option in previous seasons.

- The new-look roster has some interchangeable bodies, the Sixers are very long and athletic and should present a big problem for teams with their defense.

- The Sixers landed O'Quinn, a defensive rim protector, which should allow Embiid to take more time off.  O'Quinn is a very solid defensive center, but doesn't offer much on the offensive end of the floor, but is still a reliable backup center that the team lacked last year.

- Who will shoot the three with J.J. Redick gone?  The team has a lot of capable guys to shot three's but none are as proficient as Redick.  The team ran a ton of its offense through dribble-hand-offs with Redick getting plenty of clean looks.  Richardson is a solid three-point shooter, but it could be Harris who gets more looks and touches with Redick and Butler no longer here.

- Who will be viewed as the top scoring option off the bench?  Mike Scott looks like the best option to fill that role with most of the bench players being defensive minded guys, and very young, When Philadelphia sends Embiid to the bench, expect Horford to slide over and play the center position with Scott giving the team a little extra offense off-the-bench.

- Who will be the backup point guard?  I think Neto vs Milton will be something to watch at camp.  Milton is currently playing in the summer league and just got a four-year deal, but Neto is a veteran backup who has shown flashes.  Both players bring something to the table, Milton has good size, Neto has had trouble staying on the floor with various injuries.

PG: Ben Simmons
SG: Zhaire Smith
SF: Tobias Harris
PF: Mike Scott
C: Al Horford

- One concern that is there for the Sixers: Even though they have a ton of size, who is your on-the-ball defender for the smaller, quicker scoring guards? At 6-6, Richardson is the smallest player in the starting lineup, so who will run around and defend guys like Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker and Victor Olidipo is something they might have problems with.

- The Sixers seem to have very good length and size on the wings, especially coming off-the-bench.  Zhaire Smith and rookie Matisse Thybulle's development will be key to watch, along with having veteran James Ennis, the teams perimeter defense should be very good at all times.

- The big key is having a guy like Horford who can defend a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo, allowing other players not to put so much energy into defending the opposing teams best offensive player. It also allows Embiid to take more time off during the season and during games.

With Kawhi Leonard heading to the western conference, the east is wide open, and the Sixers new look might be just enough to get them to the NBA Finals.

2020 NBA Championship Odds
Los Angeles Clippers   3/1   (Opened 12/1)
Los Angeles Lakers   7/1   (Opened 7/1)
Milwaukee Bucks   5/1   (Opened 9/2)
Philadelphia 76ers   8/1   (Opened 14/1)
Golden State Warriors   14/1   (Opened 5/1)
Houston Rockets   14/1   (Opened 9/1)
Denver Nuggets   16/1   (Opened 25/1)
Toronto Raptors   16/1   (Opened 8/1)