The Philadelphia 76ers have lofty expectations this upcoming 2019-20 season. Throughout training camp, Philadelphia preached about defense as their number one focus heading into the season. In fact, All-Star guard Ben Simmons admitted that Philadelphia wants to establish itself as the best defensive team in the league.
“Yeah this is what this team’s about,” said Ben Simmons, per Ky Carlin of USA Today. “That’s the meeting we had, our identity is defense. We want to be the best defensive team in the NBA.”
Philadelphia made key additions to beef up its defensive acumen. Among those include former Boston Celtics big man Al Horford and former Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson.
Horford paired with a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Joel Embiid should make their interior defense a nightmare for whoever dares to go inside the paint against Philly.
Likewise, Richardson's addition negates the defensive prowess they lost from the departure of Jimmy Butler. Richardson has established himself as one of the best lockdown perimeter defenders in the league. Him paired with Simmons makes them one of the, if not, biggest and longest defensive backcourts in the league.
Philadelphia also drafted a great defensive player in Matisse Thybulle. The 22-year old forward was named 2019 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, and became a two-time winner of the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award. In two games this preseason, the rookie has already recorded seven steals and three blocks.
The Sixers finished in the middle of the pack in defensive rating last season (14th). With their key additions and their primary focus set on that side of the ball, Philadelphia has all the tools to accomplish its goal of becoming the best defensive team in the league.
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