October 08, 2024
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Eric Gordon is expected to be a key reserve for the Sixers when the team is at full strength, but his three-point shooting could make him a viable fifth starter when needed.
Since July, it has seemed clear which five players Sixers head coach Nick Nurse will tab as his regular starters: Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George, Caleb Martin and Joel Embiid.
As everybody knows, no team makes it through an 82-game season with one starting five in tact. Even if those five players meet expectations, injuries happen over the course of a season -- and the Sixers will be extremely cautious with Embiid's workload, while also monitoring that of George, to ensure both players on the wrong side of 30 with lengthy injury histories make it to the playoffs at full health.
This had me thinking: how would Nurse react to each one of his projected starters missing a game? Let's dive in:
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If Maxey misses time at any point, Lowry is the obvious choice to fill in for him in the starting five. Maxey is, of course, a score-first guard, but that does not mean he should be replaced by one. Replacing an injured member of a starting lineup is not always going to be about perfectly replicating what the injured player provides; oftentimes it is simply about finding the player whose skills best fit with the other four players in that unit.
Lowry is clearly that. If the Sixers needed to start this lineup for any period of time, Lowry would serve perfectly as a table-setting point guard who keeps an offense organized, gets Embiid and George the ball in their preferred spots and is happy to spot-up from beyond the arc, all while adding considerable versatility on the defensive end.
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George's minutes without Maxey on the floor will represent his best chances to play the way he has often been accustomed do, dominating the ball and serving as the team's lead perimeter scoring option. This sort of lineup also clears a path for Oubre to be more assertive as a scorer, something he would likely embrace.
What should be most exciting about a unit like this is its defensive versatility. Against a lot of lineups, Lowry, Oubre, George and Martin can all easily switch one through four. That would be a massive boon for Nurse, especially with Embiid already protecting the rim.
There is a real chance Nurse would also slot Lowry into the starting lineup in place of Oubre. Nurse loves lineups with as many ball-handlers who can initiate offense as possible -- it makes it easier for the team to get into its offensive actions and adds a layer of unpredictability that is always nice to have.
But any lineup that already has Maxey, George and Embiid is not going to be starved for players who can help Nurse run his offense. The opportunity to insert Gordon -- one of the most accomplished three-point shooters of his era in the NBA -- grants that trio of stars extremely valuable floor spacing.
Gordon is an accurate shooter from beyond the arc, but what makes him a special shooter is the volume with which he can launch. Gordon is truly comfortable firing away from any spot on the floor, versus any sort of defense or contest, in any game situation.
The fact that Gordon has built a reputation for that over the years means defenses take the threat of his shot seriously. Nurse should maximize Gordon's minutes alongside Maxey, George and Embiid -- the veteran shooting guard is tailor-made to make life easier on star players.
When I began this exercise early on Monday, I was concerned that I was overestimating the Sixers' faith in Gordon to step into the starting lineup when needed. Hours later, though, the Sixers put out their starting lineup for the preseason opener. With George resting, it was Gordon who started, with Oubre sliding from the two to the three.
You never want to take too much away from lineup configurations in the first game of the preseason for a team with a revamped roster, but the early vote of confidence in Gordon is at least interesting.
Gordon only played the first seven minutes and change of the game -- none of the team's surefire rotation regulars appeared in the second half at all, and some were finished for the night after the first quarter -- but he did flash the three-point shooting ability that drew the Sixers to him in free agency:
EG for THREE! pic.twitter.com/aMxvziHolf
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 7, 2024
Replacing Caleb Martin is the one time here where the Sixers can find someone who occupies a fairly similar archetype. KJ Martin is similarly strong and physical, with the requisite athletic tools to defend on the perimeter or interior. He even has the same last name!
KJ's role in this lineup would not be much different than what Caleb's will be: take on tough assignments as a defender across the positional spectrum, crash the glass hard to help overcome the Sixers' relative lack of size and be opportunistic on offense.
The most obvious difference between the Martins, though, is that Caleb is a much more reliable three-point shooter. The Sixers will need KJ to improve his three-point accuracy to be a reliable contributor -- but if he does, he has a chance to be quite a helpful player.
"He's had a really good camp," Nurse said of KJ before Monday night's preseason opener. "He's done a lot of the things he's always done: rebound, run, jump at the rim, offensive rebounds, putbacks, transition, that kind of stuff. He has made more shots. He really spent a big summer working on his shooting. He reconstructed some things. It looks better."
When Embiid missed two months with a meniscus injury last season, Nurse quickly fell into the habit of starting Mo Bamba at center to keep Paul Reed in second unit lineups, but giving Reed more minutes. No such trickery will be necessary this season when Embiid is sidelined, as Andre Drummond is more than up to the task to start in a pinch when needed.
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Of course, the entire complexion of the Sixers' schematics on both ends of the floor change drastically when Embiid is swapped for Drummond. George and Maxey would each see upticks in usage, as would Oubre. While Embiid spends the vast majority of possessions getting the ball and working from there, Drummond will typically only touch the ball for a second or two at a time -- either going right up for a shot around the rim or initiating an immediate dribble handoff.
Drummond's primary functionality in a unit like this would be creating space for his teammates through screen-setting. If he can do that well while being serviceable on the back line defensively, this unit should be just fine.
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