Brett Brown has staggered his rotation to keep Simmons in the mix when Embiid sits and toggled between Amir Johnson, Richaun Holmes, and Dario Saric as backup centers. The most common result is implosion. Lineups featuring Simmons but not Embiid
eat about nine points per 100 possessions on average, a devastating figure that unwinds much of Philadelphia's best work.
It's then that Simmons hits the wall. Compare the situational effectiveness of various Sixers and you'll find that players like Saric, J.J. Redick, and Robert Covington perform pretty similarly both in these lineups and out. Their shooting percentages, in particular, go almost untouched. Not so for Simmons, whose 60.5% true shooting with Embiid on the floor craters to 46.6% when Embiid sits. That difference is a chasm— similar to the margin in efficiency between Chris Paul and Dion Waiters.
Without Embiid, the shape of the defense changes. Help against Simmons comes more readily and stays for a beat longer, unbothered by the threat of Johnson catching the ball around the rim. Defenders edge in all over the floor. Redick and Covington may have the league's respect, but the goal is to crowd the paint and then run them off the line, forcing less natural ball handlers to make critical plays
