Takeaways from Sixers win over Pelicans: Rotational challenges
Getting the rotation right without Ben Simmons will be tricky, assuming this isn’t the last time the 6-foot-10 trade requestee manages to miss a game. Tyrese Maxey slotted comfortably into the starting five, but without another point guard on the roster, Philadelphia ran into some unavoidable walls offensively.
In general, the Sixers can get by with only Maxey at point guard. It probably won’t be pretty, and the Sixers aren’t exactly in Finals form, but it’s doable. Shake Milton’s absence is not the problem either. He’s not good enough to warrant minutes when he’s healthy. This is a simple talent void on the roster.
Doc Rivers ran his infamous all-bench lineup on multiple occasions Wednesday night. It worked pretty well — the bench is way better this season — but in general, the Sixers should never go without at least one of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, or Tyrese Maxey on the floor. You cannot consistently rely on Furkan Korkmaz and Isaiah Joe to initiate the offense like point guards, even if Korkmaz flashed some playmaking potential in the win.
The second unit features multiple gravity shooters, and Doc Rivers has a lot of interesting two-man actions at his disposal once the ball gets moving, but the Sixers will feel Simmons’ absence from time to time. The roster doesn’t have a ton of great passers (or even good passers), and Rivers’ lack of inventive choices will inevitably breed some ugly five-man groups every now and then.
Embiid plus shoots is gold, and we have seen Tobias Harris run the second unit with some moderate success in the past. Rivers should probably look to stagger lineups more frequently, especially if he’s already hoping to do that when Simmons does hypothetically suit up.