Things are not looking good for the Philadelphia 76ers to start the 2024-25 season off. Already with five losses in just six outings so far, the team already finds itself having to catch up to their fellow competitors moving forward, though they will still have to wait before they can finally get their full slate of players back.
However, it’s way too early to really panic. The 76ers have not had a forgiving schedule so far, and injuries to their stars have not helped either. Still, there are already some observable patterns from these first six games, something that Nick Nurse and the coaching staff should use to make tenable adjustments to the lineup.
Here are three lineup changes the team should seriously consider.
1. The 76ers should reduce Caleb Martin’s minutes
Caleb Martin, one of the new faces on the team, only took one game to convince the coaching staff to put him in the starting lineup, However, since an impressive first outing, he’s become quite forgettable, particularly on the offensive end. So far, he’s been one of the worst shooters in the NBA, sinking just 18.8 percent of his three-pointera and shooting a putrid 32.7 percent overall.
Problem is, Martin is soaking up way too many minutes at 34.5 a night. While probably done out of necessity, the 76ers have to start chipping away some of his minutes and give them to get some more help on the scoring end, especially with the team ranking 26th in offensive rating.
2. Give Guerschon Yabusele even more burn
Guerschon Yabusele has been an absolute stud for the 76ers in his NBA comeback act. Despite playing out of position due to necessity, he’s been able to hold his own as an undersized center, showing that trademark physicality that defined his game in Europe. However, he’s been even more impressive on the offensive end as a malleable scoring option in the frontcourt.
Joel Embiid’s impending return should completely erase his minutes at center unless badly needed, but that should not means taking him out of the rotation. In fact, the 76ers coaching staff should keep giving him minutes and play him even more given the team’s lack of natural power forwards to duke it out against burly opponents.
3. Time to turn to the young guns over Eric Gordon
Eric Gordon has been pretty average so far, but his minutes has been undeniably forgettable for the most part. Sure, he’ll hit a three-pointer here and there, but other than that, he does not really offer much elsewhere for the team, and his immediate demotion to the bench shows exactly that.
But instead of continuing to give him considerable minutes, Nurse should explore turning to his young guns to man his role moving forward. Jared McCain has logged just 11.2 minutes per game while Ricky Council has normed just seven minutes per contest so far, and both players arguably present more robust skill sets that can help the 76ers in the present while also building them up for the future.