76ers' offense struggling without center Spencer Hawes
So how much different are these 76ers when they have center Spencer Hawes in the lineup rather than on the bench?
76ers' offense struggling without center Spencer Hawes
John Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
So how much different are these 76ers when they have center Spencer Hawes in the lineup rather than on the bench?
Drastically.
Sixers coach Doug Collins has been pointing out the offensive slippage of his team to the press corps. And if you take a look at some of the Sixers’ numbers as Hawes mends from his strained left Achilles’ tendon injury, you kind of get the picture of what he’s talking about.
The biggest differences are in scoring numbers and shooting percentages with some key player in the rotation.
As a whole, it goes without saying that they are not as good, averaging just 90.7 points in Hawes’ absence as opposed to the 102.6 they have put up with him healthy and on the floor.
Taken individually, the guy who looks like he’s missing Hawes’ presence the most is reserve guard Lou Williams. In the 12 games with Hawes, Williams is averaging 17.3 points per game and making 45 percent (68 of 151) of his field goals.
But take the big man out of the mix and his numbers come down sharply. Williams has averaged 13.0 points per game without Hawes on the floor. His field goal percentage? A measly 36.5 percent (38 of 104).
Jrue Holiday is missing him, too. With Hawes, Holiday is averaging 15.2 points. Without him, Williams averages 13.0. However, it’s his shooting percentage which, while not as grand as Williams’, falls noticeably from 45.0 (72 of 160) to 40.3 percent (48 of 119).
Andre Iguodala’s play has improved – he’s registered a triple-double in Hawes’ absence – but he’s also having more trouble with his shot without Hawes. Iguodala averages 14.7 playing alongside Hawes, 10.4 without him.
Of course, if the team is scoring fewer points it stands to reason that the point totals would decline. However, the shooting percentages seem to plummet. Iguodala’s field goal percentage drops from 47.7 percent (61 of 128) to 41.2 percent (35 of 85) sans Hawes. Iguodala has been lethal from behind the 3-point line with Hawes (43.5 percent), connecting on 20 of 46 treys. Meanwhile, he’s shooting a pretty pedestrian 5 of 21 (23.8 percent) as Hawes continues to mend.
The saving grace for Sixers continues to be their play at the defensive end, where they are actually slightly better without Hawes. In the nine games without Hawes, the Sixers have held opponents to 86.3 points. With him they allow just 85.9.
The Sixers are better when Hawes is playing well, but I'm not about to attribute most of the decline in offensive production to his absence. First of all the opposition has been improving. Second and most importantly, all the teams are watching the tape and making defensive adjustments throughout the season. The Sixers offense can be significantly disrupted by teams who put length on the floor at the guard and small forward positions, overplay their men in half court sets, and switch constantly to deny open jumpers. This doesn't completely shut the club down but forces them to dribble and pass more until the shot clock is near expiration and low percentage attempts must be taken. Until they acquire a taller low-post back-to-the-basket offensive threat (who also can keep up with the rotations on the defensive end) then we have to hope the defense is good enough to produce enough turnovers resulting in easy baskets to keep the scoring adequate.— barrywil- i agree that we'll continue to struggle as long as we play teams with good length but the competition has not been getting better. washington, nj, charlotte detroit and an orlando team that's playing awful after a great start. length will be a problem (especially tonight) but the execution needs to get better and someone's got to convince doug to get ET more minutes. the kid's too good to watch meeks clang 3's 4 out of every 5 games while being lost on defense 5 out of every 5 games.— 76ers in 2076
- Jodie is shooting 43% on 3's which is top ten in the league. Turner has stopped even attempting baskets more than 10 feet from the basket and you want to bench our only floor spacer for him? — Knowledge King
- article fails to mention the high post, dribble handoff action that so much of the half-court offense ran through at the beginning of the year with hawes, which has a direct effect on our perimeter guys' ability to get open looks. hence explaining the dropoff in shooting percentages. hawes' upside can be similar to that of vlade divac on the early 2000's Kings teams— jodya2
- @jodya2, you hit the nail on the head...high post dribble handoffs & Hawes' passing on backcuts gave the perimeter guys great looks. Good stuff— mtairy1
- Lavoy Allen has the ability to play in the high post ... I suspect that Collins will start implementing some sets for him as insurance for when Hawes and or Vuc are out.— gopherkiddd
- Agreed...Teams have been taking out Lou Williams with extra attention of that opposing big coming out real high as Lou goes around the high post screen...And if the Sixers don't force turnovers, they have not been getting out on the break, as their outlet passing off rebounds and made baskets is almost nonexistent...To boot with Hawes' ability to set consistent high post screens or pass to a cutter from that position, he also represents a very sound and available 15 foot shot attempter,second only to EB for consistency, and halfcourt potency...Without Hawes or EB doing bringing out the bigs on the good teams, the Sixers will remain too much of a perimeter shooting team...not quite playing to their strength.— bearsfriend
- Hawes is the only player who can run the high-post screen? I remain perplexed at the respect this marginal player is getting after such a small sample of slightly above-average performance. I think the lower shooting percentages stem from good old-fashioned inconsistency. There is not a single reliable perimeter shooter on this team with the possible exception of Meeks who is streaky as the day is long. A couple of seasons ago, Thad was shooting and making mid-range jumpers, and Evan Turner was projected to have a nice mid-range game to go along with his ball skills and aggressiveness. When these guys simply improve their jump-shots, we can stop talking about the mythical attributes of Spencer Hawes whose real contributions early in the season were defensive-rebounding, a little offense, and all around hustle. The guy was playing like a white John Salley.— auntesther
- Actually, Hawes has always displayed a deft passing ability/mid-range game since his time at college, and probably learned a good amount of high post skills while he was on the Kings with Brad Miller (who himself learned the high post under Divac). Obviously, anyone can run a high post screen, but it's a lot different when you're talking about a big with good court vision and a solid mid-range jumper versus a guy like Brand with a solid jumper, but a notch below in passing skills. And the numbers don't lie about Hawes' impact on the offense at the beginning of the year compared to the Sixers offense during time he's been on the IR, which was the argument I was making. It's much more debatable if he can sustain that performance moving forward, though I'm in the camp that's leaning slightly towards yes. But you are right to say there wasn't much of a sample size to say this is anywhere close to a certainty moving forward. I was a Hawes hater last year, but the talent's always been there (hence why he was a #10 overall draft pick)— jodya2
- My team (Sixers) needs a real center. Spend the money and go after D. Howard. They won't win the big games with that chump Hawes.— atlron
- @auntesther..I believe you are underestimating that second pass in the halfcourt set, which often comes from the big at the high post in at least three of the different looks the Sixers use offensively...In the flow of the offense in a 24 second clock setting,Hawes gets the ball swinging to the weakside much quicker than EB,Battie,or Vucevic...Lavoy Allen has demonstrated some ability in this department...Hawes is no star, especially against some stronger centers..but the Sixers halfcourt O is MUCH better when he's present and accounted for.— bearsfriend
- It's nice when your five is a facilitator, but it's nicer when he's a banger who can shut down the lane on defense and has hunger around the basket on the offensive end. Is he a good passer for his size? Does he move the ball pretty well? Yeah, but I feel like heralding that too much only speaks to shortcomings in other aspects of his game -- weaknesses which, I freely admit he seemed to show promise of overcoming early in the year. I guess I just cringe a little when finesse is too highly praised or when Vlade Divac's name is dropped to describe a player's potential. I like Hawes when he's running up and down the floor like wild man, causing scrums, getting loose balls, playing defense like a man, finishing around the basket, etc. Some of those things were beginning to occur. I don't want to criticize him too much, because I believe he can be a good player for this team, but I'm not going to be happy if he becomes the reincarnation of the G-Man. The only teams that go far with facilitating, finesse type centers are teams with Michael Jordan on its roster. — auntesther
- @ atlron, Dwight might not be the answer. The Sixers D is already one of the league's best without him, and on offense, this team needs a big man who is aware and can pass. The Sixers are a team of slashers, not shooters, and so far Dwight's career has shown that he is most effective when he is surrounded by 4 spot-up jump shooters. Hawes is a better fit for this team right now, IMO, even if Dwight is clearly a vastly superior player.— le sigh
- That big stiff better get out on the court already. Seeing him dressed in a suit more than a jersey is getting annoying.— Melvin Finkelstein
- Folks, I seldom visit the Sixers' comment board, but I'm over here for a change because the team is doing well. (Yes, I am a fair-weather fan. I apologize.) But let me tell you, I'm impressed by the level of knowledge and civil discourse here, compared with what gets said over on the Eagles. I hope the Sixers keep it up against this run of good teams in the next two weeks, because it would be nice to have something to get excited about in late winter, other than spring training.— Dave Clemens
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
