With just a handful of games left before the regular season ends, the Philadelphia 76ers are still engaged in a tigh race in the standings. Of course, they are eyeing one of the final guaranteed playoff spots in the East in order to do away with the perilous play-in tournament altogether. Fortunately, their stars have already returned from their respective injuries.
The 76ers must be at full strength now, right? Well, that is not exactly true. Philly just uncovered the news that Cameron Payne will be out for at least a couple of weeks after straining his hamstring. Of course, that development is offset by the return of the biggest names on the roster, but it is actually something that could trip them badly as their backcourt depth is non-existent at this point.
Philly is basically running a three-man rotation in the backcourt spots between Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes off the bench. Usually, Payne gets some residual minutes at point guard, but with him out of the commission for quite some time, the 76ers will be forced to ramp up the minutes even more for those players.
76ers backcourt take a hit with Cameron Payne out due to injury
Payne’s shooting splits this season will wow absolutely no one, but he has been more than serviceable as an emergency guard who can soak up some minutes as the nominal PG. After trading Jared McCain before the deadline, the 76ers basically got sapped of their break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, and that role was essentially assumed by the veteran.
The 76ers will be missing the ball stability they enjoyed with Payne for the next two weeks. While not a high-octane playmaker, he makes up for it by being a reliable ball-handler. He very rarely coughs the ball up, and he has brought a sense of calm on this team when he is out on the floor. That will be missed.
Nick Nurse has already overtaxed his troika of guards, so not having a fourth guard who can spell them when needed is going to be quietly difficult to deal with. The team can only hope that they continue to get some luck in the health department, especially with their backcourt because they simply cannot afford to have another guard get hobbled at this juncture.
Hopefully, Cameron Payne can get back at the soonest. The 76ers quietly need his services in spurts, and without him, their shallow backcourt invites more risk on the court.