With Ben Simmons out for an indefinite amount of time, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown expects Joel Embiid to exert a mightier effort of both ends of the floor. Simmons is out due to a subluxation in his left knee. With the playoffs about to kick off next week, the Sixers head coach has laid out his plans moving forward. And it involves a more aggressive Embiid on offense and defense. Without Simmons, the league leader in steals, Brown wants Embiid to enlarge his presence on the paint.

“I feel like his rim protection, him being such a presence at the rim, looking to block shots, looking to defensive rebound, stuff in the paint, stuff at the rim as it relates to defense is going to be even more required. We need him to go to an even higher level defensively,” Brown said, per Ky Carlin of USA Today.

On the offensive end, expect an uptick in Embiid's points and assists. Without Simmons in the fold, the Sixers' offensive playbook will center on the Cameroonian.

“Offensively, he needs to get as many touches as we can give him,” Brown added. “I think that one of the areas of most noticeable growth is what’s he been doing passing out of the post. It’s probably the single thing that stands out most to me, offensively whether it’s Jo or just us as a team, I like our post spacing. I like Jo’s unselfishness, quarterbacking gyms, his ability to read where the double teams are coming from I think has been shown.”

Many have tagged the 76ers as their dark horse team. It'll be tough to fill in those shoes without Simmons around. But don't expect Embiid and 76ers to go down without a fight.