‘We can set the standard’: Sixers aim to be the NBA’s top defense this season

NEW YORK — De’Anthony Melton messed up the 76ers’ first training-camp practice.

But it did not bother Doc Rivers.

The coach had unleashed Melton — the fifth-year guard the Sixers traded for on draft night — to pick up the starting ballhandlers full-court. That pressure stifled the first-teamers’ ability to run their offense.

That is an example of why All-NBA center Joel Embiid publicly expressed his goal for the Sixers to be the NBA’s best defensive team this season. Their retooled roster is now peppered with players who excel on that end of the floor, and will debut that more forceful style in Monday’s preseason opener against the Nets in Brooklyn.

» READ MORE: Rivers says he hasn’t decided how to deploy his starters in Monday’s preseason opener

“I would go so far as to say that James [Harden] and Tyrese [Maxey], they can’t wait to see another team that’s not pressuring,” Rivers said following a practice last week. “Because we’re really taking liberties — probably too many right now. But we want our guys to get in that habit of trusting being more aggressive, because there’s someone behind you.

“And once you start trusting that, you get more aggressive.”

Rivers said Embiid’s declaration at media day last week stems from “100 conversations this summer” about the need for the Sixers — and Embiid himself — to improve defensively.

Last season, they ranked 12th in efficiency at 110.2 points allowed per 100 possessions, a solid finish but not championship-caliber when considering that the Finals participants, the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors, were first and second, respectively, in that category. The Sixers, though, were among the NBA’s worst in transition defense (28th out of 30 teams, 15 fast-break points allowed per game) and rebounding (29th, 42.3 per game). And while rangy wing Matisse Thybulle was an NBA all-defensive second-team selection for the second consecutive season, the eye test revealed that the Sixers’ roster did not have the necessary perimeter size, athleticism, and switchability to counter the Eastern Conference’s lethal wings such as the Nets’ Kevin Durant and the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum.

Bolstering that defense was a clear offseason focus for Rivers and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. Melton’s long arms allow him to snatch steals (1.3 per game in his career) and blocks (0.5 per game) at a relative-to-position rate similar to Thybulle, creating havoc when they have been paired together while matching up against the starters during five-on-five play. Forward Danuel House and big man Montrezl Harrell, who were both signed during free agency, bring physicality to that end.

And veteran big man P.J. Tucker, the Sixers’ primary free-agent target, has long been respected for his versatility, toughness, and voice as a defender. Rivers said during the Sixers’ first practice he could hear Tucker’s calls coming from the opposite end of The Citadel’s gym more clearly than the ones coming from the players from the side on which the coach was standing.

“I know what it takes to get it done on a nightly basis in the league [and] playoffs,” said Tucker, who won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. “It’s tough and it comes down, a lot of times, to communication when plays break down on defense. You’ve got to make stuff happen, and it’s by communication. … You set those expectations right now in the preseason.”

» READ MORE: ‘You don’t build it in a day’: Sixers come together during out-of-town training camp

Tactically, the Sixers’ defense — which is spearheaded by assistant coach Dan Burke — expects to switch and help more with like-sized players. They want to trap and scramble to get the ball out of the hands of the opponent’s best player, and close out hard on shooters. They will track the following stats throughout the season using a white board inside their practice facility: fast-break points allowed, points in the paint allowed, field-goal and three-point field goal percentage defense, free-throw attempts allowed, defensive rebounding percentage, and second-chance points allowed.

Yet success on that end of the floor all starts with that initial pressure on the ball, Rivers said.

“If we can get teams starting their offense at 14 [seconds on the shot clock] and 12, just that alone, you become a better defensive team,” Rivers said. “When teams are starting their offense at 18 and 20, you’ve got a lot of defense to play. So I think that’s part of what we’re doing. We’re probably being more aggressive now.

“We want to see how far we can take it before we have to say, ‘Uh, that may be too much.’ So right now we’re really up [on ballhandlers].”

Sharpening that defense won’t solely be up to the newcomers, however.

Maxey hit the weight room this summer to better fight through screens. Second-year guard Jaden Springer, who spent most of last season with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats, has been lauded for his defensive tenacity during camp. Standout forward Tobias Harris relished his role on that end down the stretch last season. And Embiid, a three-time all-defensive second-team honoree, said he must “get back to not waiting until the fourth [quarter] to be that guy” at the rim.

“If you get stops, you’re able to run,” Embiid said. “You’re able to get in transition. You’re able to get Tyrese going.”

» READ MORE: Playing in ‘every game possible’ is among Joel Embiid’s priorities for the Sixers

Two days after Melton consistently disrupted the Sixers’ guards, it was Thybulle’s turn. Rivers described a possession during which Thybulle “single-handedly blew the whole play up by himself” by keeping the ball in front of him for the length of the court, instead of automatically taking the risk for the steal.

“We can set the standard for how good you could be as a team defensively,” Thybulle said.