The Philadelphia 76ers will need to survive the extended absence of Seth Curry.
The chief concern around Seth Curry at the moment is health and safety. Curry tested positive for coronavirus last Wednesday, raising immediate concerns over potential transmission to teammates and staffers. He was on the sidelines for part of the first quarter as the Philadelphia 76ers played the Brooklyn Nets.
Due to contact tracing and NBA protocols, the Sixers were left with seven active players for Saturday’s loss to Denver. While Philadelphia will have more reinforcements for Monday’s battle with Atlanta — including the probable return of Joel Embiid — there is still wide-ranging uncertainty surrounding this team.
I have written at length about the seemingly insufficient health and safety measures put in place by the league. Curry, who was on the sidelines and in the locker room with teammates, tested positive, and yet players who were in close contact with him were still cleared for a game two nights later.
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When moving beyond the obvious COVID-related problems, Philadelphia is now tasked with surviving Curry’s absence. The length of his hiatus is unknown — he will need to register a series of negative tests before returning — but one can assume Curry will miss at least a week of games, if not more.
So far this season, Curry is averaging a career-best 17.0 points per game on 60.3 percent shooting from the field and 59.5 percent shooting from deep. His percentages will cool off at some point, but Curry is one of the most efficient spot-up shooters in basketball. His skill set is invaluable next to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Curry’s early chemistry with Embiid is the closest Philadelphia has come to recreating the dynamic J.J. Redick developed with the Sixers’ star center. While Curry doesn’t fly around the court like Redick, he can score off screens, thrive out of dribble hand-offs, and do more on-ball than Redick ever could. His presence has clearly made life easier for Embiid, most notably when handling double teams.
In fact, Curry is at least partially responsible for Embiid’s MVP turn so far. Embiid has been eager to find Curry on the perimeter, leading to more passes from the big fella than we have been accustomed to in years past. Embiid does his best work next to high-level shooters, and Curry shoots at the highest possible level.
Without Curry, the Sixers will (if able to reach semi-full strength over the next week or so) find a fifth star. The obvious candidate (and almost definite choice) is Shake Milton, whom Doc Rivers has espoused nothing but confidence in this season. It will also open up for minutes for Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle, especially with Furkan Korkmaz still out. Maxey has considerable momentum after his 39-point explosion against Denver.
Milton, while not on Curry’s level, is himself a high-level shooter who is unafraid to take a healthy volume of 3s. More than anything, keeping the volume of 3s the same is important. The more 3s that go up, the less teams will feel comfortable cheating toward Embiid in the post. And, even with his favorite shooter sidelined, Embiid will need to continue his sharp passing.
The Sixers will also need to fill the void of their No. 3 scorer. Tobias Harris may see an uptick in volume, but again, it would seem Milton is in line for a lot of those shots. He scored 24 and dropped seven assists starting in Curry’s place against Brooklyn. We have seen Milton put together big performances in the past, most notably his own 39-point explosion against Doc’s Clippers last season.
It’s never easy to replace a player so prolific in a specific area. Curry is truly one of the best shooters on the planet. The Sixers don’t have anyone else who fits that description, but there are other ways — Milton and Maxey’s on-ball creation most notably — to at least mitigate the harm caused by Curry’s absence. And, of course, every road leads back to Embiid, who will need to continue his MVP campaign to elevate a shorthanded Sixers squad.