Will the Philadelphia 76ers return to a Twin Tower lineup?
The Sixers might be joining the trend, or at least are seriously considering it.
After having his offer sheet from Utah matches, Paul Reed, the primary backup center last season, said new coach Nick Nurse has talked to him about playing a ‘Pascal Siakam’ type power forward game.
Mo Bamba, a 7-footer with a good three-point shot, has signed with the 76ers. He is close to Embiid and immediately brought up the possibility of him and Embiid being able to play together. That did not just come out of thin air, Bamba must have had some signal from the coaching staff to mention it.
The other backup from last year, Montrezl Harrell, is only 6-foot-8 so he certainly could play the forward position (with the understanding he can not shoot a lick from outside).
The Sixers would go sometimes last season with 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker as a super-small ball center. Neither Tucker nor Harrell are rim-protectors on defense, which led opponents to have a clear runway to the basket.
Rumors have been circulating that general manager Daryl Morey would like to trade away Tucker as part of a potential James Harden deal and Harris is always involved in Sixers’ trade chatter.
If Tucker or Harris do end up getting traded, could Bamba or Reed move into the starting lineup, giving the Sixers a ‘Twin Towers’ alignment?
Remember, when the Raptors won the NBA title under Nurse, they started Siakam and center Marc Gasol, so he has experience with fielding big lineups. If they all stay, and somehow Daryl Morey keeps five who all can play center, having a two-big lineup would at least help, somewhat, with the log jam of bigs.
With that in mind, let’s look at the last time the 76ers went with a Twin Towers lineup and had success.