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Processing the Philadelphia 76ers: The starting lineup conundrum

By Christopher Kline

J.J. Redick & Markelle Fultz | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
J.J. Redick & Markelle Fultz | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia 76ers’ starting five continues to be a source of concern after a 6-5 start to the season.

Through 11 games, the Philadelphia 76ers are undefeated at home and winless on the road. Their losses, albeit to mostly good teams, have come in disheartening fashion, with four blowouts and one overtime loss after a 50-point game from Blake Griffin.

The biggest area of concern for the Sixers has been their limited shooting. With Markelle Fultz manning the starting two-guard spot, the team’s spacing has taken a significant hit. The Fultz-Ben Simmons tandem, so far, isn’t working.

On the whole, the numbers aren’t too bad. The Sixers are 3.1 points per 100 possessions better with Fultz off the floor, but that’s a slim price to pay for valuable developmental minutes. Those numbers take a serious dip next to Simmons, though, and Fultz is clearly at his best when handling the ball.

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At some point, if the Sixers prioritize winning, Fultz will get moved to the bench. His skill set remains valuable long term, but the likelihood of Brett Brown starting Fultz all season (especially into the postseason) seems slim at best.

Despite recent struggles, J.J. Redick has been overwhelmingly positive for the Sixers, averaging 17.9 points in 30.5 minutes per contest. That’s a slight uptick in playing time from last season, so it’s not like starting him will increase his minutes. It’s just a matter of when his minutes are played.

If Fultz moves to the bench, Brown would be wise to keep him on the floor whenever Simmons sits. Shaving a few minutes off Simmons’ workload to give Fultz extra run as the lead guard is another option, and something Brown should be willing to explore.

The Sixers need to keep their most underrated asset on the floor as well — Landry Shamet. The rookie provides much of the same value Redick does, even if the execution isn’t quite as crisp at this point in his career. His off-ball movement and shooting is invaluable to the Sixers. It’s also important to keep shooters next to Fultz whenever possible.

At some point, Brown also needs to address the Dario Saric issue. While the Croatian seems locked into the starting five for now, giving him some extra rest and testing a Fultz-Redick starting five (or even a Fultz-Shamet starting five, for those feeling bold) could be worth it.

Here’s some of the best Sixers content from around the web.

Embiid is producing at an MVP level and Frank is taking notice. Coming off his first healthy offseason, the big fella is taking smarter shots, cutting down on turnovers and building on his brilliant defense. He’s a top-10 NBA player.

As touched on above, the Sixers’ have some lineup issues. Hofmann touches on the unique Fultz situation and multiple solutions to the Sixers’ current on-court hiccups.

In another piece about the Fultz-Redick dynamic, Anderson explains the Sixers’ need for improvement on the road and how Fultz could benefit from playing with the second unit.

The folks at The Stepien are always great and Gribanov is one of the best in the business. The Sixers might have significant capital in the draft this season, so keeping up with the top prospects is important. Gribanov gives you over 100.

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We’ll be back with another installment of Processing the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.