Since the Philadelphia 76ers’ 2026-2027 NBA season began, one issue has kept showing up night after night: even with everyone available, this roster still looks short on big-man help.
That was already the obvious weak spot heading into training camp. The Sixers let Andre Drummond walk, brought in Ariel Hukporti, and then moved Johni Broome to create room for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The hope was that Hukporti and Adem Bona could work as a nightly two-man answer, with one emerging as the main backup and the other serving as depth. Instead, Hukporti went down with an Achilles injury, and Bona was left to carry the load.
Now Bona is sidelined too, with an undisclosed injury that has kept him out for three games.
That’s exactly the kind of opening Tacko Fall was supposed to fill when Philadelphia used its final two-way spot on him. The problem is that the Sixers haven’t actually used him. Fall has been inactive and sitting on the bench in recent games, including Tuesday’s matchup with the Boston Celtics.
If he isn’t going to dress for the Sixers, or even get run with the Delaware Blue Coats, then what is the point?
The reality is that no two-way player is walking in and solving Philadelphia’s center problem overnight. But so far, the Tacko Fall move has produced nothing.
He has been active only twice since being cleared to play again. His season debut came on November 6 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he logged three minutes of garbage time.
He did not suit up for the next two games.
Jabari Walker has been a nice surprise this season, but he’s not a natural fit at the position the Sixers need most. Philadelphia needs size.
Philadelphia needs rebounding. A 7-foot-6 player ought to be able to provide some of that, yet the team still hasn’t given Fall a real chance.
Nick Nurse has never been shy about playing two-way guys when they earn it. Dominick Barlow and Walker both got plenty of minutes last season before eventually landing standard contracts. So the question here is simple: is Fall not good enough to serve as an emergency big who can rebound and defend for a few minutes, or is Philadelphia just choosing not to find out?
The Sixers need help at center, especially with Bona out. If Fall can’t even handle early-November minutes while the team still has an open 15th roster spot, then Philadelphia needs to find a two-way player who can. And if the organization believes he can help, then it’s time to stop wasting space.
In Other News...
Joel Embiid Just Gave The Sixers Another Brutal Health Scare
Joel Embiid gave the 76ers another tense moment in their game against the Celtics when he took a hard fall and limped to the locker room before halftime. He did come back for the second half, which was the immediate relief Philadelphia needed, but the scene was a reminder of how fragile the margin is around its franchise center.
Embiid has already been working through plantar fasciitis and recently tweaked his ankle, so any new stumble naturally sets off alarms for a team with limited depth behind him at center. His status is expected to be day-to-day, but for the Sixers, the bigger concern is how often they can keep absorbing these scares without it turning into something more serious. [Read more 🡒]
Joel Embiid Is Back In A Debate Sixers Fans Dread
Joel Embiid gave the Sixers another uneasy reminder of how quickly a game can turn tense when he went down awkwardly against the Celtics and appeared to tweak his ankle before heading off the floor at halftime. He did return for the second half and even knocked down a three-pointer, but the sequence was enough to put Philadelphia back in the familiar position of monitoring every stumble, grimace and slow walk from its franchise center.
Bill Simmons added another layer to the conversation by criticizing Embiids reactions to injuries, a familiar and frustrating topic for a fan base that has heard plenty of outside commentary about its star. For the Sixers, the concern is less about the debate itself than the bigger picture around Embiids availability and how every minor scare seems to reopen the same conversation all over again. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Face A Big Thursday Question With Two Stars Uncertain
Thursdays injury report has put a familiar kind of uncertainty around the Sixers home game against Toronto, with Joel Embiid listed as questionable because of foot management. The matchup already carries the usual early-season interest, but availability is once again the first storyline for Philadelphia, which is trying to sort out its rotation while managing key bodies carefully.
LeBron James is also on the questionable list because of back management, adding another layer to the nights uncertainty even before tipoff. The Sixers will also be without Adem Bona, who is sidelined by a cervical spine sprain, and Dominick Barlow, who is out with a back injury, while Toronto remains shorthanded too with Kawhi Leonard ruled out for at least another week because of knee issues. [Read more 🡒]