The last two games for the Philadelphia 76ers have summed up their season in some ways. Both were against the Toronto Raptors. On Sunday, Philadelphia lost a tight game in overtime without Joel Embiid.
There was enough good in the loss on Sunday for someone to be intrigued enough to watch the next game. Then on Monday, the Sixers validated that fan’s decision and won convincingly in a game in which Embiid played very well.
Much like the season, the last two games showcased that there’s probably been more good than bad with the Sixers in the first half of 2025-26. But has there been enough good for fans to fully buy in as we trudge along through the dog days of winter? One of the bigger ways the team can win over more fans is by having coach Nick Nurse push the right buttons with his frontcourt rotation.
By now, everyone knows the backcourt is going to be predominantly Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes will see his fair share of minutes off the bench. It’s up front where Nurse needs to correctly juggle the utilization of his big men and this is likely going to be a situation he’ll always need to monitor in close games, particularly without Embiid. Due to how much salary Philly has committed to Embiid, Maxey and Paul George, Daryl Morey and his staff were left with no choice but to go bargain hunting in the front court this offseason as the rotation was filled out.
Andre Drummond was retained and newcomers like Domnick Barlow, Jabari Walker and Trendon Watford were brought in to go with a returning youngster in Adem Bona. In Sunday’s loss to the Raptors without Embiid, Barlow, Bona and Drummond all played at least 20 minutes, but none of them played 35 minutes. Walker’s 17 minutes off the bench also feel relevant to this conversation. Watford is still working his way back from another injury setback, but the point stands that most of these bigs who are not Embiid are a factor for Nurse and the frontcourt rotation does not appear to be crystalizing at the moment.
On one hand, it’s a good thing that Nurse feels the need to get most of these players minutes as it’s an indicator they’re earning their playing time. It’s certainly a fair claim to say Morey has done as good of a job as one could have asked for when it comes to shopping in the clearance section of the department store. On the other hand, with this many options to play up front, it’s increasing the chances of Nurse making a few mistakes in tight games.
Barlow and Walker have especially overachieved and are giving Philadelphia good returns on its respective investments. However, despite Barlow being a mainstay in the Sixers’ starting lineup, Nurse tends to get away from Barlow when looking to close games out. Drummond has proven he has a little something left as he continues to age into his 30s and Bona absolutely looks like an NBA rotational big man who can come off anyone’s bench and provide some defensive intensity.
When you look at Sunday’s loss, you’ll see that Barlow and Drummond both started but played fewer minutes than Bona who was a +12 in 33 bench minutes. There’s nothing wrong with playing Bona a lot, but Barlow only played six more minutes than Drummond. Barlow was Philly’s best offensive big man in the game on Sunday and Drummond did not score in Sunday’s loss. Nurse certainly could have minimized Drummond’s role, and the minutes Drummond vacated could have been given to either Bona or Barlow depending on the lineups Nurse would have ran.
Without getting into the weeds too much on the scouting reports of all these big men and who does what, getting away from Barlow down the stretch on Sunday probably wasn’t in Nurse’s best interest and Drummond is obviously due to have games where he looks washed at times. Is this why Philly lost on Sunday night in overtime? Not all by itself, but in close games, every coaching decision matters and the margin for error is going to be razor thin sometimes.
The next game in Toronto told a different tale. Embiid replaced Drummond in the starting lineup on Monday night and Bona’s minutes were reduced significantly. Embiid looked like his old self and Philadelphia coasted to the win. Of course, when that happens, the decision is going to be taken out of Nurse’s hand to an extent as the Sixers coasted to a victory.
I’m not even suggesting Nurse is doing a bad job this season or even with his frontcourt. I’m solely trying to point out that on nights Embiid either doesn’t play or plays poorly, Nurse will have a lot of decisions to make. Can he make enough of the right ones in order for the Sixers to make some noise this season? I guess we’ll find out.
