76ers Have a Bench Problem That Could Derail Their Championship Plans

When the Philadelphia 76ers constructed their roster, it was made with the intention of winning a championship. The additions of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James were the highlights, but the unsung heroes were the additions to the bench.

Dean Wade, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Anfernee Simons were all projected to be high-caliber players that would add fuel to the fire of this prolific offense. Well, it seems the bench forgot the logs for the fire because they have played terrible through the first month of the season. 

Now, some of the blame goes to the lack of centers on the roster that has forced the 76ers to shuffle around some players and have Wade play some minutes at center. But that is completely irrelevant, as a bench player who a season ago averaged 46 points per game is doing even worse this year, averaging less than 20 as a unit. The bench has no player averaging ten points a game. This means that there is so much riding on the starters to stay healthy, and that’s a recipe for disaster. 

It also contradicts the purpose of a bench, which is to help relieve some of the starters, but instead they are adding to the already mountainous problem the 76ers face.

The demand for an injury-riddled center and a 41-year-old forward to play north of 30 minutes a night is just not feasible. When James joined this team, it was to be expected that he wouldn’t have to have such a demanding workload.  Not only that, but surely no one anticipated that the bench would cause such a stir. 

Simon was going to be the guy off the bench. The energizer gets fans out of their seats as he goes on scoring runs, lighting the scoreboard up, and he’s only done it once this season. In their most recent matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Simon showed what he has to offer, and it was refreshing. But if this isn’t a step in the right direction for not only Simons but the bench as well, it’s going to be like water and oil mixing together.

For a 76ers team that has had to have their starters play well into the 30-minute range, while some have played over 40, there needs to be some kind of adjustment. Whether that’s involving the rotation shifts or playing some new blood, there has to be some kind of improvement, or the rumblings from the fans will only grow.