Philadelphia’s first real look at its new starting group comes with a second question attached: who is actually available behind it?
The 76ers plan to play LeBron James in Thursday’s preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets, giving fans their first preseason glimpse of him in a Philadelphia uniform after he joined the team in July. He is expected to be on the floor with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe as the Sixers continue sorting out how their preferred lineup fits together.
That front line of the preseason schedule is only part of the evaluation. The other part is happening in the margins, where Philadelphia is still dealing with a backup-center puzzle and a cluster of injury updates that leave the depth chart unsettled.
Nick Nurse said the team should be able to get “a majority of the guys out there” for the next game, but the Sixers will still be without Dominick Barlow, Anfernee Simons and Adem Bona against Brooklyn. Barlow remains out with back soreness and is still not practicing, Simons is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Bona is sidelined by a foot injury.
That matters because the Sixers have already identified the backup-center spot as a problem they need to solve. The need is especially acute in the wake of Ariel Hukporti’s injury, which has left Philadelphia searching for a big body it can trust behind Embiid. The team has even been described as desperate for a warm body who’s roughly 7 feet tall.
Thursday’s game should give Philadelphia a cleaner look at the top of the rotation, but it will also show how much support that group has around it. Nurse has said flexibility is part of the answer at backup center, with frontcourt players potentially filling the role, but the Sixers still need healthy bodies to make that plan workable.
The preseason opener offered a small glimpse of the depth chart in motion. In the win over the New York Knicks, Wiseman logged the most playing time among the three, finishing with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, five rebounds and one block in nine minutes. It was a useful reminder that the Sixers are still sorting through who can handle minutes when the starters sit.
James’ debut adds another layer to that process. It will be his first game with the Sixers since signing in July, and the expectation is that the starters’ minutes will be limited as Philadelphia focuses on conditioning and chemistry rather than a full-scale preseason showcase.
That is the tension in Brooklyn: the Sixers want to see their intended starters together, but they also need to learn whether the rest of the roster can hold up around them. The starting five can only be judged in context, and right now that context includes injuries, an unresolved backup-center spot and a bench group that is still being assembled on the fly.