Coming into this season, the biggest question mark for the new-look Philadelphia 76ers was how well they could survive inevitable injuries. The additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown gave them one of the most talented five-man units in the league but Joel Embiid and LeBron were almost guaranteed to miss some meaningful stretches at one point. How would the 76ers survive without them, when forced to dip into their bench?
Embiid and LeBron have both missed games this season but the 76ers have only had to play without them both once — a 109-104 win over the Hornets at Halloween. Tyrese Maxey went off in that one, dropping 38 on just 23 shots. They may need another big performance from him tonight against the Toronto Raptors because the availability of both Embiid and James is up in the air.
Joel Embiid and LeBron James are listed as questionable for tonight
Joel Embiid is listed as questionable because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He's been in the injury report for this ailment multiple times this year but has appeared in 10 of the 76ers' 12 games, including the last five in a row. While he's been able to stay in the lineup, he's clearly been limited, playing without the normal lift and agility we're used to seeing from him. He's shooting just 37.0 percent from the field and 12.1 percent from beyond the arc.
LeBron has, likewise, missed only two games so far this season but is also listed as questionable, with a nagging lower-back injury. His shooting percentages have been down to start the year and his scoring numbers have taken a big drop as he's deferred to his talented teammates. But his experience, and connective playmaking have been a huge boon to Philadelphia.
The 76ers could perhaps survive a game without one of their two stars but playing without both would be a huge challenge. Especially because both of their primary back-up centers, Ariel Hukporti and Adem Bona, have already been ruled out for this game, leaving them incredibly thin in the frontcourt.
Projected 76ers starting lineup and rotation without LeBron and Embiid
STARTER | POSITION | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
Tyrese Maxey | PG | Anfernee Simons |
VJ Edgecombe | SG | Anfernee Simons |
Jaylen Brown | SF | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope |
Jabari Walker | PF | Justin Edwards |
Dean Wade | C | - |
How the 76ers' actually fill their power forward and center spots without LeBron and Embiid is an open question. I've plugged in Dean Wade — who has already picked up four starts this season, in place of both Embiid and LeBron. But the other spot could go to Walker — an undersized 4 who has appeared in just 8 games and is averaging fewer than 12 minutes per game. The fallback option would be Tacko Fall, the 7-foot-6 giant who has bounced between the G League and the end of NBA rotations for the past few seasons.
The bigger problem is the bench, where there are no other bigs to sop up minutes behind Wade, Walker and, potentially, Fall. All that means there's a good chance the 76ers would have to play large stretches extremely small with a wing like Anfernee Simons or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope filling in at small forward and pushing Jaylen Brown up to the 4.
The best case scenario for Philadelphia is that at least one of embiid or LeBron is able to go and the 76ers only have to fill in one hole in their frontcourt rotation. The good news is that the 76ers have at least some track record of making this work. This season, Brown, Edgecombe and Maxey have played 34 minutes together without Embiid or LeBron, outscoring opponents by 17 points.
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