The rim protection question facing the 76ers before camp starts the instant Joel Embiid walks toward the bench.
Philadelphia strengthened nearly every layer around him this offseason, adding Jaylen Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, LeBron James and other veteran help to a roster already built around Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. The perimeter should be tougher. The rotations should be cleaner. None of that produces another Embiid.
When he sits, Nick Nurse must find 12 to 16 dependable minutes of paint defense from Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti or Dominick Barlow. Each offers a different solution. Each also creates a different problem.
Bona has the explosion to erase mistakes. Hukporti brings true center size. Barlow gives Nurse mobility and switching. Training camp will determine which tradeoff Philadelphia can trust.
Philadelphia strengthened the first line of defense
The best way to protect the rim sometimes starts 25 feet from it. Brown gives Nurse a powerful wing capable of taking primary scorers without demanding automatic help. Caldwell-Pope can chase shooters through dribble handoffs and fight over high screens. Edgecombe supplies strength and burst against ballhandlers.
That matters because last season’s defense never consistently controlled the first action. Opponents could create advantages through high pick-and-rolls, empty-corner sets and straight-line penetration. Once the first defender lost leverage, Embiid often faced two threats at once: stop the ball or stay attached to the roller.
Better perimeter defense should reduce those impossible choices. However, it will not eliminate them. Teams will hunt Tyrese Maxey and smaller guards in screening actions. Skilled ballhandlers will reject picks when defenders shade too aggressively. Stretch bigs will drag Philadelphia’s centers away from the restricted area. Eventually, the back line still has to make a play.
That brings the backup-center competition into focus.
Embiid sets the defensive standard
The block totals tell only part of Embiid’s value. In fact, his biggest impact often comes before the shot. A guard turns the corner, sees Embiid waiting near the dotted line and changes direction. The floater comes out early. A cutter hesitates. A pocket pass arrives half a beat late.
One body changes the possession. That level of deterrence gives Philadelphia a defensive structure no reserve can fully duplicate. Nurse does not need his backups to imitate it. He needs them to preserve enough of the system that the Sixers can keep playing on their terms. That distinction matters. Instead of searching for another Embiid, Philadelphia can divide the job among three very different players.
Three backup options solve three different problems
Philadelphia has three defensive tools.
Bona supplies explosion. Hukporti supplies size. Barlow supplies mobility.
That is the clearest way to understand the competition.
Adem Bona can erase mistakes
Bona owns the strongest traditional rim-protection profile of the group. He played 71 games last season, averaging 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in only 17.4 minutes. Basketball-Reference also credited him with a 6.2 percent block rate. His film matches the production.
Bona gets off the floor quickly. He can step toward a driving guard, recover toward the roller and still challenge the finish. That recovery speed gives Nurse more freedom than a slower reserve center would.
Philadelphia can bring Bona higher against pick-and-roll ballhandlers. He can hedge, recover and sometimes survive a brief trap before sprinting back toward the paint. That makes him the closest thing to a conventional answer.
The concern comes with his aggression. Bona averaged 2.2 fouls per game despite playing fewer than 18 minutes. Elite guards punish overeager bigs with pump fakes, delayed gathers and changes of pace. One spectacular block loses value if two cheap fouls force him back to the bench.
His left foot sprain complicates the timetable further. Bona does not need to reinvent his game. He needs repetitions. Every missed practice costs him communication work with new perimeter defenders and live pick-and-roll reps against Maxey.
If his timing catches up to his athleticism, Bona offers Philadelphia its highest defensive ceiling behind Embiid.
Ariel Hukporti can make the job simpler
Hukporti presents a cleaner, more traditional alternative. At 7 feet and 246 pounds, he gives Philadelphia a genuine center-sized body. His value does not require an ambitious role.
Play drop coverage, protect the roller, stay vertical, and rebound—that simplicity can matter. Reserve defenses often collapse because young bigs chase plays they cannot make. They jump at the wrong ballhandler, abandon the roller or rotate toward a drive that a teammate already contained.
Hukporti does not need highlight blocks. He needs clean possessions. His limitations become clearer when opponents pull him away from the basket. Quick guards can attack his retreat. Pick-and-pop centers can drag him above the foul line. Five-out lineups force every decision to happen faster.
That creates a direct contrast with Bona: where Bona gives Nurse range, Hukporti gives him mass. Against bigger frontcourts, that physical tradeoff may become worthwhile.
Dominick Barlow can prevent the drive altogether
Barlow changes the terms of the debate.At 6-foot-9 and 224 pounds, he does not resemble a conventional backup center. Against smaller, faster opponents, that can become an advantage.
Barlow can hedge harder than Hukporti. He can switch onto guards for short stretches. His foot speed allows Philadelphia to flatten certain pick-and-rolls before the ballhandler ever gets downhill.
That is a different form of rim protection. Instead of waiting near the basket to clean up the mistake, Barlow can help prevent the advantage from forming. The cost comes on the glass.
Small-ball center minutes work only if five defenders finish possessions. If Barlow forces a difficult jumper but Philadelphia gives up the offensive rebound, the tactical victory disappears.
His usefulness will depend heavily on matchup. Against a powerful interior team, Hukporti may make more sense. Facing a downhill guard, Bona’s recovery speed becomes valuable. When playing five shooters, Barlow could give Nurse his cleanest answer. That comparison matters more than identifying a single No. 2 center.
Nurse can make every backup’s job easier
Philadelphia should not expect one reserve big to survive every coverage, and Nurse does not coach that way anyway. With Bona, he can defend higher at the level of the screen. By contrast, Hukporti allows him to simplify possessions through conservative drop coverage, while Barlow opens switching combinations that can remove the original screening advantage.
The perimeter personnel should support all three approaches. Brown can take the toughest wing assignment, Caldwell-Pope can navigate screens without conceding switches immediately, and Edgecombe can pressure ballhandlers while steering them away from preferred driving angles. Those details reduce the burden on whichever center is behind them.
A defensive possession rarely fails because one big man makes one isolated mistake. Usually, the breakdown starts earlier: a guard dies on a screen, the low man tags the roller late, or a wing loses sight of a cutter. The center often takes the blame simply because the shot eventually reaches his rim.
Philadelphia has to clean up that entire chain. Good rim protection starts well before the restricted area.
Camp will reveal which compromises Nurse can live with
Preseason block totals will not decide this competition. The revealing possessions will look less dramatic. First, watch Bona when a guard snakes the pick-and-roll instead of attacking in a straight line. Does he stay balanced, or does he chase the first fake? Next, evaluate Hukporti when a screener slips early. Can he retreat without conceding the pull-up while still protecting the rim? Finally, monitor Barlow after a switch. Can he contain the guard and recover quickly enough to finish the possession with a rebound?
Those are the plays that determine trust. Philadelphia now has enough defensive talent on the perimeter to use its backup centers according to matchup rather than forcing one player into every assignment. That flexibility should give Nurse more freedom to change coverages without disrupting the rest of the rotation.
The real challenge comes when an opponent identifies the weakness in whichever option Nurse chooses. Bona can be baited into fouls, Hukporti can be pulled into space, and Barlow can be punished on the glass. Nurse does not need to eliminate those weaknesses. He needs to keep opponents from attacking the same one repeatedly.
The answer may have to change every night
Bona offers the highest shot-blocking ceiling, Hukporti gives Philadelphia traditional center size, and Barlow can switch actions that would otherwise drag a slower big into space. In short, every option fixes something, and every option concedes something. That is the decision waiting for Nurse in camp.
By spring, the margin will become much smaller. One late rotation can produce a dunk, one failed switch can create an open three, and one lost rebound can erase 23 seconds of excellent defense. Philadelphia does not need its reserve centers to dominate those possessions. It needs them to survive them.
When the game slows, the floor spreads, and an opposing guard attacks the weakest seam, Nurse will have to know exactly which big he trusts — and exactly what that choice costs.
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FAQs
Why is rim protection a concern for the 76ers before camp?
Joel Embiid anchors the main defense. However, Philadelphia needs reliable bench minutes when he rests during games.
Who are the backup center candidates for the 76ers?
Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti, and Dominick Barlow compete for backup center minutes. Each player brings a different skillset.
How does Adem Bona fit into Nick Nurse’s defense?
Bona provides explosive shot-blocking and quick recovery speed. However, he must avoid quick fouls and manage his foot sprain.
Can small-ball lineups protect the rim for Philadelphia?
Yes. Dominick Barlow allows Nick Nurse to switch pick-and-rolls early. However, small lineups must secure defensive rebounds to succeed.
What role does Ariel Hukporti play in the defense?
Hukporti gives Philadelphia genuine center size. He plays simple drop coverage, protects the roller, and grabs defensive rebounds when Embiid rests.
