Montrezl Harell, the unexpected solution of the Philadelphia 76ers for the absences of Joel Embiid

If any problem has haunted the Philadelphia 76ers in The it was Joel Embiidit’s just finding one string replacement to keep the minutes (or games) in which the Cameroonian is not on the field. Deficit that they not only suffer in the Regular Phase, but also strengthened normally in the playoffs, such as in 2021-2022 which had to they face crucial postseason games with DeAndre Jordan as the starting interior.

The trend is the same: some Dominant Sixers in stretches with Embiidbut completely deficits in their absences. In 2017-2018 he was his main replacement Amir Johnson. Next year, Boban Marjanovic and finally Greg Monroe. In 2019-2020, Kyle O’Quinn. In 2021-2022, Dwight Howard. While in the previous campaign, two veterans like it Andre Dumond Y De Andre Jordan. Not exactly a talent pool or reliable players.

What unites all these names over the years? Philadelphia’s poor performance with her on the field: no exceptions, each of them finished their time with the Sixers with a clean slate (point balance per 100 possessions) negative. And in several cases, that score was as low as expected.

The bet for 2022-2023 did not appear to have changed much from previous years’ decisions: it was for another veteran interiorwith defensive doubts and away from his own primaryWhat Montrezl Harrell. But while the stakes could be similar to previous years, the results are anything but.

For the first time in his career, Joel Embiid’s backup has a positive +/-. Obviously less than the Cameroonian, but enough to keep the 76ers from crumbling before every loss of their big star.

This Sunday’s game against Detroit was a case in point. Embiid is out again with injury and Harrell responded with 20 points and 8-11 shooting from the field. in 24 minutes, to help Philadelphia beat Detroit 123-111. Before this game, the Sixers had one net rating +2.8 with Harrell inside and will get even bigger after the win against the Pistons.

In addition, the team’s third interior, Paul Reedalso showed he can be ready to deal: 16 points, 12 rebounds and 6-7 from the field in a win against Detroit.

Unlike other years where it was impossible for him to win in games without Embiid, Philadelphia now maintains a good performance in his games as a loss: The Sixers are now 7-4 in 11 games this season without jojo. A percentage of 64% win which even exceeds what appears with the one born in Yaounde: 61% (17-11).

Although Harrell should Show that you can continue to give positive responses in the Playoffswhere historically they’ve had a lot of trouble staying on the court, at least in this regular season the Sixers seem to have eliminated one of its major historical problems and light up in the race for the Top 4 of the Eastern Conference pair.