The Sixers don’t get much time to breathe after Friday night’s 98-93 win over the Knicks. They turned around and headed straight to Charlotte for a Saturday night matchup with the Hornets, and that quick swing puts Nick Nurse in a tricky spot with both LeBron James and Joel Embiid out.
James and Embiid were both ruled out after playing against New York, which leaves Philadelphia trying to piece together a starting five without two of its biggest names. That’s not an easy assignment, especially on the second night of a back-to-back.
One possibility is a more straightforward look: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade and Adem Bona. That would put Wade in James’ spot and Bona in for Embiid, giving the Sixers a more traditional setup on paper.
Brown’s status adds another layer. He is listed as questionable after missing Friday’s game against the Knicks with left patellar tendinopathy. If he can’t go, Philadelphia’s options get even thinner.
Bona is the biggest question mark in that group. He has struggled badly to open the season, and the numbers back that up: the Sixers have been outscored by 29 points in the 76 minutes he has played. That makes him a shaky bet as a starter, even if the roster math may force Nurse to use him anyway.
The other route would be much smaller. Philadelphia could start Wade as the de facto center and insert Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in place of James, creating a group of Maxey, Edgecombe, Caldwell-Pope, Brown and Wade.
Nurse has already leaned small once this season when Embiid was out against the Detroit Pistons last weekend, but James was available in that game. Losing both stars at once makes that approach tougher, especially against a Hornets frontcourt that starts Moussa Diabate and Naz Reid.
That size gap matters even more because the Sixers will also be missing two of their top three rebounders this season in James and Embiid. With that in mind, the safer bet looks like Nurse choosing size and rolling with Bona and Wade alongside Maxey, Edgecombe and Brown if Brown is able to play.
There is at least a little more frontcourt depth on the injury report. Jabari Walker and Tacko Fall are both listed as questionable, and either one would give Nurse another body inside. Still, it’s hard to imagine either being thrust into the starting lineup right away.
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Hornets Let Another Tight Game Slip As Tempers Boil Late
A tight game in Charlotte turned into another frustrating finish for the Hornets, who watched Philadelphia pull away late in a 109-104 loss at Spectrum Center. The 76ers were without Joel Embiid and LeBron James, but Tyrese Maxey carried the scoring load with 38 points as Philadelphia steadied itself down the stretch and kept climbing in the standings.
For Charlotte, the bigger concern was not just the result but the way the night unraveled as emotions flared late in a game the Hornets had a chance to grab. Philadelphia moved to six wins on the season and into the top seed in the Western Conference, while the Hornets were left to sort through another close call that slipped away in front of their home crowd. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Momentum Gets Tested As Philly Heads To Charlotte Short-Handed
The 76ers trip to Charlotte comes with a very different look than the one fans had in mind, as the team has already ruled out LeBron James and Joel Embiid for injury management. James is dealing with low back and sciatica issues, while Embiid continues to work through a right foot plantar fascia injury, leaving Philadelphia to navigate another game without two of its biggest names.
The injury list does not stop there, either, with Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti also out and Jaylen Brown listed as questionable. For a team trying to keep its momentum intact, the challenge now is less about star power and more about how deep the rotation can hold up in a game that suddenly looks a lot less straightforward. [Read more 🡒]
Maxey Is Giving This Shorthanded Sixers Team A Real Identity
Tyrese Maxey is doing more than carrying the scoring load for the shorthanded 76ers, he is helping define what this group can look like when the roster is stretched thin. On Halloween, he poured in 38 points to lift Philadelphia past the Hornets, 109-104, in a game that asked plenty of the Sixers because they were missing Joel Embiid and LeBron James, while Charlotte was also down several regulars.
The bigger takeaway for Philadelphia was not just the win, but the way the supporting cast fit around Maxey. Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Brown, Jabari Walker and VJ Edgecombe all had notable roles in the victory, giving the Sixers a little more structure and balance than a one-man show. For a team trying to stay afloat through injuries, that kind of identity matters as much as the final score. [Read more 🡒]