From a quick glance at the Sixers' schedule, the team's next two contests should not be daunting matchups: they will face the Los Angeles Lakers, losers of three of their last four contests, on Friday night before returning home and facing the lowly Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Neither opponent should be intimidating. But just winning a single game feels like an uphill battle for these Sixers, who will enter Friday morning with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst record in the entire NBA.
The Sixers are 1-6, and for the next two games they will be without not just Joel Embiid -- serving the remainder of a three-game suspension levied by the NBA for "shoving a member of the media" -- but also Tyrese Maxey, who left Wednesday's loss to the Clippers with hamstring tightness which would later be revealed to be a strain that will likely hold him out for multiple weeks.
How are the Embiid- and Maxey-less Sixers going to score? The versions of the Sixers which have included Maxey have been putrid offensively so far. Removing an All-Star point guard from a group that is already struggling will make this a nearly impossible equation for Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to solve.
In this week's Friday Film, let's take a look at the factors that make this situation so ominous for Nurse and the Sixers as they try to just start winning some games:
Paul George rides solo
For at least the next two games, a Sixers team built around a trio of stars will instead revolve around just one. That is George, who has only logged 55 minutes across a pair of appearances this season. George became the Sixers' sole focal point for much of his return to Los Angeles against the Clippers and shot the ball extremely well, but committed four turnovers as he saw continually increased defensive attention.
The Sixers opened the fourth quarter on Wednesday night in need of a quick push to get back in the game. Nurse, though, had no choice but to surround George with four players who are not threats to create off the dribble. The result: the easiest double-team and turnover generated a defense will ever have:
George is going to see astronomical amounts of attention and pressure from opposing defenses until Embiid or Maxey returns -- the expectation is Embiid will be back on Tuesday following the completion of his suspension -- and there are even more extenuating circumstances to consider. And far too often this season, the Sixers' offense has been stagnant -- dormant, even -- relying on Maxey and now George to create something out of nothing and bail their team out.
When opposing defenses put a lid on whichever Sixers star is fending for himself, it results in possessions like this:
While George is healthy enough to be on the floor, he is still ramping up into peak physical shape after a three-week absence due to a left knee bone bruise. George's minutes have been closely monitored; Nurse said after the team's practice at UCLA on Thursday that there is no definitive timeline on when the nine-time All-Star will be a full go, but he will at least be "limited" for the Lakers game.
In the middle of a season, this would be an enormous challenge for George. But for him to face this roadblock as he just begins learning how to coexist with nearly every single one of his teammates is an additional factor which will prevent him from being capable of taking on the sort of offensive burden he would generally like to under these circumstances.
Kyle Lowry takes the ball
Nurse said Thursday that his plan is to elevate Lowry back into the starting lineup and have the 38-year-old serve as a point guard, with veteran Reggie Jackson likely backing him up and two-way point guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. "in the mix" as well.
In seven games in 2024-25, Lowry is 15-for-28 from three-point range -- good for a 53.6 three-point percentage -- but his rapidly-declining athleticism has really limited the ways in which he can contribute. Lowry is just about entirely incapable of creating separation or any kind of on-ball advantages.
Not only have these athletic limitations hindered Lowry's ability to create shots for his teammates -- once his strongest skill -- but they have rendered him a non-threat to score inside the arc. A stat that is hard to believe, but true: in 159 total minutes this season, Lowry has only attempted six two-point shots. That is because he is now prone to plays like this:
Lowry is one of the greatest point guards of an era, the true embodiment of the term "floor general" thanks to his excellent passing chops and unparalleled smarts. But he is just playing at such a significant athletic deficit that he cannot be used in a primary ball-handling role on a consistent basis.
Nurse has said several times that he wants Lowry playing in the ballpark of 18-to-20 minutes per game. Well, he has averaged 22.7 minutes per contest so far -- and that number is only going to go up.
Lowry's quick trigger and accuracy from beyond the arc and overall brilliance allow him to be extremely effective in ideal settings. Nurse hoped to be able to unleash Lowry when those opportunities presented themselves and keep him on the bench when his weaknesses can be exploited. But now, Nurse has no choice but to ride Lowry for many more minutes than he would like to.
What is going on with Caleb Martin?
Martin's fit with the Sixers seemed fairly easy to parse during the offseason: he would be ready to spot up for three-point tries, occasionally attack closeouts and be aggressing crashing the glass, all while ensuring he has the requisite energy to be the team's defensive ace across multiple positions.
While Martin's defense has been good and he has been effective on the offensive boards -- he collected four offensive rebounds during each of the team's first three contests -- his offense has simply been dreadful. Martin has never been a skilled scorer -- in the past, he has topped out as a player who can get surprisingly hot and ride it for the occasional big game -- but his jump-shooting in particular has been a tough watch.
Martin's shooting mechanics have never had the aesthetic appeal of a Ken Griffey Jr. swing, but his form looks particularly out of whack right now. It has resulted in brutal efficiency numbers, where Martin is now firmly among the bottom of the NBA:
The sample size remains relatively small, but Martin is also shooting just 64.3 percent from the free throw line, a harrowing sign.
Nurse has often said during the first few weeks of the season that given the injuries the Sixers have seen their star players suffer, the team needs its role players to play at their average levels or above every single night. Martin may be underperforming relative to expectations more than any other role player on this team, and it is not because of a lack of effort or poor decision-making. He just cannot make shots, and the Sixers need him to figure out how to no longer be an offensive liability.
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