October 19, 2024
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Can the Sixers rely on Guerschon Yabusele for quality minutes? His preseason showings indicate the answer is yes.
After playing six games in 12 days, the Sixers have completed their preseason slate. The next time they put on their uniforms, the date will be Oct. 23, and the Milwaukee Bucks will be in town for the first game of each team's 82-game regular season schedule (it remains to be seen which Sixers will actually be available for that game).
With the preseason officially wrapped up, what did we learn heading into the regular season?
Gordon agreed to a veteran's minimum deal with the Sixers very early into free agency, and one of the league's most successful three-point shooters figured to be a central figure of head coach Nick Nurse's bench thanks to the floor spacing his mere presence is able to generate.
Now, it appears that Nurse envisions Gordon opening the season as the Sixers' starting shooting guard. Nurse was straight-forward discussing the decision earlier this week and called his ongoing starting lineup considerations a "fluid" situation. Caleb Martin moving to the bench was an unexpected tweak, but Nurse said he believes his second unit lineups need an infusion of the sort of energy Martin is capable of providing on both ends of the floor.
Even while appreciating Gordon's prolific three-point shooting, at this point of his career -- Gordon will turn 36 years old on Christmas -- he is not an ideal starter on a team with championship aspirations. But the first few months of the season will be about gathering information for Nurse, whose team has a top-heavy roster led by the star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey.
A different way to think about it, though, is that a shooter of Gordon's caliber should spend most of their minutes sharing the floor with players like Embiid, George and Maxey to give those players as much room to operate as possible.
Eric Gordon displays his willingness to attempt deep threes and the quickness of his spot-up shooting on the same play: pic.twitter.com/SRajTBgekq
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) October 19, 2024
The Sixers would likely acknowledge that Gordon is not as skilled as the average starter on a title contender. Their counterpoint -- and it is valid -- would be that this will not change Gordon's total playing time, it just changes which players he runs with during those minutes.
MORE: What does Eric Gordon have left in the tank?
Yabusele's standout showing for Team France during the 2024 Olympics put him back on the radar as someone worthy of NBA consideration, and the Sixers decided the former first-round pick of the Boston Celtics could help bolster their power forward depth chart. It was impossible for anybody to know what Yabusele would look like when he returned to an NBA environment, though, and even after a strong training camp it was unclear if he had a realistic path to rotational minutes.
Fast forward to now, and Nurse appears comfortable using Yabusele not just as a backup power forward, but also as a small-ball five. Yabusele has clearly taken command of the team's third-string center role, and given the overwhelming expectation that Embiid will undergo significant load management even while healthy, that puts Yabusele in line for a healthy dose of opportunities before factoring in whether he can outduel KJ Martin for backup power forward minutes (KJ Martin appears to be the front-runner for that slot, with Yabusele close behind him and Ricky Council IV as a clear third in the race).
The most impressive aspect of Yabusele's preseason was not his ability to hold up down low or his improved mobility -- though both were encouraging -- instead, it was his combination of accuracy and willingness as a three-point shooter.
Guerschon Yabusele shows no hesitation on a catch-and-shoot three from above the break: pic.twitter.com/uNeBkfpohM
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) October 19, 2024
Yabusele's progression from beyond the arc was the primary factor in his eventual return to the NBA, but it remains extremely encouraging to see that he is not just capable of knocking down triples, but actively seeks out opportunities to fire away from deep. When Yabusele does play center, his role will not be limited to doing the dirty work as a defender and rebounder -- he must also prove he is a genuine threat from long range in order to space the floor for the players he is sharing the floor with in those lineups.
The Sixers have all of the requisite talent to be among the Eastern Conference's elite during the regular season. My continued belief, though, is that the team will bypass the pursuit of a top seed in favor of ensuring that their core pieces -- Embiid and George in particular -- are healthy when the playoffs arrive.
Of course, this does not mean the Sixers will never approach a regular season game with aggression or that they do not care about the months from October through April. But April, May and June are paramount, and the Sixers do not appear comfortable risking their viability during those months. Given their history of being hamstrung by hobbled versions of Embiid time and time again, that is entirely understandable.
This strategy is encouraged by the return of Andre Drummond, one of the best backup centers in the league who is capable of starting and providing solid minutes on any given night. Drummond returning and George joining the fold positions the Sixers to build lineups capable of at least holding the fort when Embiid is sidelined or resting, but those are famous last words around these parts. People will not quite believe it until they see it.
For what it's worth, Drummond finished his preseason by posting 12 points and grabbing 20 rebounds in 26 minutes on Friday night against the Magic.
MORE: Maxey suffers thumb contusion in preseason finale
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