The Philadelphia 76ers have had a busy offseason during this rapid-fire time. They brought in more shooting to properly space the floor for the offense and they also brought in a veteran backup big man fresh off a title run looking for another one.
The Sixers brought in Dwight Howard on a 1-year $2.6 million deal looking to improve the backup big man position and they are looking to him to bring in some veteran leadership.
After a few group practices to begin training camp, star player Ben Simmons is happy with what he has seen from Howard.
“I think, for me, one person that sticks out is Dwight,” said Simmons. “That’s moreso just him being vocal and him being a leader. He’s a vet, he’s been in this league for a while, and he’s had different experiences. He’s going to be huge for us.”
Howard has been in the league for 16 seasons now and he has seen a ton in this league. He has had his failures such as falling in the 2009 NBA Finals and then falling in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals with the Orlando Magic. He then had a lot of experience with five other teams before coming to Philadelphia.
“Somebody you can lean on and learn from and Danny (Green) hasn’t hit the court yet,” Simmons added. “I think he’s going to be great for us in terms of leadership and putting us in the right mindset going forward to games and being one of those leaders.”
In terms of his play on the floor, Simmons has been having a lot of fun with having a backup center who can perform the athletic feats that Howard can. The attention he draws can allow other players such as Matisse Thybulle, Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey, and others to make plays.
“He can run and jump so if I’m getting to the rim, whether it’s a quick pick a step up in transition, I know he can go get a lob, but him rolling hard to the rim also is going to draw the defenders down,” Simmons explained. “I’ll also have that weak side option. It could be, Tyrese, it could be Tisse, could be Seth or Danny, anybody could be on the opposite side. So it’s tough to guard.”
Howard is going to play a key role in Philadelphia this season. The team has been in need of a backup center the team can rely on and that is what he has proven to do thus far at the beginning of camp.
