Sixers Tinker with Rotation, Seek Balance Between Stars and Role Players
PHILADELPHIA - As the 76ers continue to navigate a tightly contested Eastern Conference, head coach Nick Nurse is making some key adjustments to his rotation. One of the more notable shifts: Dominick Barlow, who had been starting at power forward for much of the season, is now coming off the bench. In his place, Kelly Oubre Jr. has stepped into the starting five alongside Paul George and Joel Embiid.
Barlow, playing on a two-way deal, had earned his minutes by doing the gritty, unglamorous work - setting screens, crashing the glass, defending multiple positions. He brought energy, hustle, and a willingness to do the little things that don’t always show up in the box score but help win games. But as the Sixers got healthier and the stars returned to full strength, Nurse opted for a lineup tweak that prioritizes spacing and shooting.
Enter Oubre, who brings more offensive firepower and a shooter's mindset. Next to Maxey, George, and Embiid, Oubre’s floor-spacing and cutting ability give the Sixers a different dynamic - one that, at least on paper, fits a bit more cleanly with their top-end talent.
That change has ripple effects. Barlow’s demotion to the second unit also pushed Jabari Walker - another two-way player who had carved out a small but meaningful role - out of the regular rotation for now.
But if there’s been any frustration behind the scenes, it hasn’t shown. Nurse praised both Barlow and Walker for their professionalism and steady approach during the transition.
“I think that you’re always getting impacted when you’re changing things,” Nurse said. “That was good to see, and listen, Jabari Walker’s done nothing but play good. I’d like to find a way to get him his five, six, eight-minute stints that he’s been providing as well.”
That’s the challenge Nurse faces now: figuring out how to balance roles and responsibilities across the roster. The current starting lineup - Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Joel Embiid - has only logged 91 possessions together so far, and the early returns are mixed.
According to Cleaning the Glass, that group is posting a -2.0 point differential. It’s not a huge sample size, but it’s enough to raise some questions about chemistry and fit.
Compare that to the previous unit - Maxey, Edgecombe, George, Barlow, and Embiid - which has a +9.1 point differential over 291 possessions. Again, not a massive sample, but it suggests that Barlow’s presence brought a different kind of balance, particularly on the defensive end and in terms of effort plays.
The Sixers are still very much in the process of figuring things out. Nurse acknowledged that roles - both among starters and bench players - are still being shaped as the team works through the second half of the season. Continuity has been hard to come by, and that’s made it difficult to fully evaluate what combinations work best.
But what’s clear is that the team’s depth, particularly in players like Barlow and Walker, is a strength. Even when their minutes fluctuate, their attitude doesn’t. That kind of consistency matters over an 82-game grind.
“With those two guys, it’s pretty easy,” Nurse said. “They’ve been nothing but hard-working, appreciative, never really any ups or downs with those guys. They’re just super happy to get out there, and they’re the same whether they’ve played 30 minutes or zero after the game.”
Right now, the Sixers sit in the No. 6 spot in the East - firmly in the playoff mix, but with plenty of room to climb. The path forward will depend not just on the health and production of their stars, but on how well Nurse can manage the moving parts around them. If players like Barlow and Walker continue to buy in, the Sixers will have the kind of depth and flexibility that could pay dividends when it matters most.