The 76ers have rolled to three wins in their first four games, but the one flaw showing up every night is impossible to miss: they are getting beaten on the glass.
That issue has been there from the opening tip, with opponents consistently outworking them on rebounds. The good news, according to Tyrese Maxey, is that the fix may already be sitting in the building. The simplest answer is getting the bigs healthy and available again.
Joel Embiid has been healthy, though the team has made a point of holding him out of back-to-backs. Adem Bona has played, but he is still not fully healthy. Dominick Barlow and Tacko Fall have yet to appear this season.
With the center spot so thin, Nick Nurse has been forced to lean small for much of the early going, with Jabari Walker and LeBron James seeing time as the nominal five. That kind of setup helps explain why the rebounding margin has tilted against Philadelphia, even if this has been a familiar problem for the club for some time.
There is still no reason for panic. Barlow and Fall should be back in the mix soon, and even if neither is a classic rebounding force, both would give the coaching staff another body to throw at the issue.
If that still is not enough, the front office has room to make a move and add more help in the frontcourt. The depth chart already took a hit when Ariel Hukporti suffered a season-ending injury, leaving the 76ers with even less margin for error at center.
So while Philadelphia has not been buried by its rebounding problems yet, it also cannot afford to treat them like a minor detail. Against teams built with bigger, more physical lineups, this will have to become a real priority sooner rather than later.
In Other News...
Sixers Could Catch Pacers At The Perfect Time Wednesday
Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe are expected back in the 76ers lineup Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers, giving Philadelphia a major boost after both sat out the previous game with injuries. Even with those reinforcements, the Sixers are still working around several absences of their own, including Dominick Barlow, Tacko Fall and Jabari Walker, so the rotation is not exactly at full strength yet.
Still, the timing could matter. Indiana arrives with its own injury concerns, and the Pacers have several players on the report, including some key names who are either out or in question for the matchup. For a Sixers team trying to stabilize itself, this is the kind of spot where getting Embiid back can change the feel of the night quickly, even if the full picture on the other side is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Adem Bona Just Put Real Pressure On The Sixers Backup Center Race
A recent run of minutes gave Adem Bona the kind of opportunity the 76ers have been waiting to see him seize. In 25 minutes, he finished with six points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, a line that underscored why the coaching staff had already envisioned him as part of the center rotation. With injuries thinning the big-man group and Andre Drummond gone, the pathway behind Joel Embiid has opened wider than expected.
Bonas case is built less on scoring than on the traits Philadelphia needs most when Embiid sits: activity, rim protection and work on the glass. The competition for backup center minutes is still shaped by who is available, but Bona has clearly put himself in position to be the primary option off the bench. For a team trying to preserve Embiid while staying solid in the frontcourt, that is no small development. [Read more 🡒]
Why The Nets Wanted No Part Of Jaylen Brown
Before Jaylen Brown ever got to Philadelphia, the Nets apparently had a chance to bring him to Brooklyn and passed. According to league insider Brian Lewis, Boston floated Brown in trade talks, but Brooklyn declined in large part because of his close relationship with Kyrie Irving, a connection the organization apparently did not want to revisit after the turbulence of Irvings run there.
For the Sixers, the backstory is part of the larger appeal of landing a player who has settled in and produced right away. Brown is performing well this season, and while the Brooklyn angle is mostly a what-if now, it helps explain why his arrival in Philadelphia mattered beyond the normal trade chatter. The Nets may have had their reasons for staying away, but the Sixers are the ones benefiting from what they saw as a clean fit. [Read more 🡒]