The Philadelphia 76ers will face the Milwaukee Bucks next week to kick off the regular season. Also, the team suffered injuries during the preseason. With this team prone to injuries, the Philadelphia 76ers desire to manage the workload of their star players, Paul George and Joel Embiid. Thus, what would be the team’s starting lineup without their stars?
The Philadelphia 76ers Offseason
The Philadelphia 76ers offered multiple contracts after Tobias Harris left this offseason. The franchise entered the offseason with about $60 million cap size and multiple draft picks. With this cap size, the Sixers franchise could land Paul George and extend Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid’s contract.
In addition to the team’s “Big Three,” the club signed Caleb Martin, Guerschon Yabusele, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Reggie Jackson. Also, they extended Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry’s contract. During the 2024 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers grabbed Jared McCain and Adem Bona. Throughout the Sixers training camp and postseason, this is what the Sixers lineup will look like.
Sixers Lineup Without Paul George and Joel Embiid
The Sixers strived to maintain their spot as the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference. Yet, Philly fans would watch their team without their star players, Joel Embiid and Paul George. The franchise aims to manage Embiid and George’s workload. This means on some nights this trio would not be playing together.
Without George and Embiid, this will be the starting lineup: Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr. Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon. Eric Gordon is a good pick for the shooting guard position factoring in his attempts from downtown as a second unit team during these preseason games. The Sixers guard averaged eight points with 41.2% from deep. His three-point-making skill would amplify Tyrese Maxey’s playmaking skill.
While Eric Gordon plays the two, Kelly Oubre Jr. will play the small forward position replacing George. Oubre’s preseason performance proved Nick Nurse’s opinion of him right. Coach Nurse expressed that Kelly Oubre is different than last year. Thus, the Sixers forward should outperform his teammates on the floor. Also, Oubre’s combo with Caleb Martin should disrupt the opposing offense,
Other Lineup Moves
Andre Drummond will assist Joel Embiid at the center position. Embiid expressed that Drummond is the best backup center he has ever had. Also, the Philadelphia 76ers have been hampered by defensive rebounding issues. This makes Drummond the best rebounder option for the Sixers.
The second unit that can maintain the team’s domination on the court includes Guerschon Yabusele, Jared McCain, Ricky Council IV, KJ Martin, and Kyle Lowry. Lowry will lead the team as its point guard with McCain in the number two position. Council will play the small forward position while KJ Martin plays the four position. Finally, Yabusele will play the backup five position.
With Jared McCain’s impressive offseason, the rookie would get more minutes on the court off the bench. Though KJ Martin could be a tradable piece for the Sixers, he continues to display improvement on the court. So, Daryl Morey could reconsider his options if the Sixers’ forward gets better. Yabusele adds more depth to the center position as a backup five since Adem Bona has more skills to improve on as a center player.
Final Thoughts
The Philadelphia 76ers look good with George and Embiid. The only challenge the Philadelphia 76ers face is a lack of size in the frontcourt. This challenge was one of the reasons the team struggled in rebounding. Thus, Morey could add one more power forward to support the frontcourt’s depth.
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