Nick Nurse’s bizarre plan could wreck the 76ers’ biggest strength

The Philadelphia 76ers may have sputtered out of the gates thanks in large part to injuries, but the only way from here is up. Both Joel Embiid and Paul George are inching closer towards their respective season debuts, and their return should be more than enough to resolidify the team’s rightful place in the upper echelon of the league.

A healthier 76ers squad would also mean a better and more robust deck for Nick Nurse and the coaching staff, opening up a lot more lineup possibilities than they have managed to conjure so far due to the team having limited options and its depth getting sapped by said injuries.

Nurse, widely known for his strategic approach to the game and a mastermind of some of the league’s most shrewd tactics on both ends of the court, will certainly enjoy the additional creative freedom attendant to Embiid and George’s comeback, but he admitted eyeing a move that screams unconventional to the highest degree.

Nick Nurse’s bizarre lineup plan could threaten to strip away the 76ers’ biggest strength

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Nurse revealed that he’s been trotting out lineups featuring both Embiid and Andre Drummond on the court in practice, and that he would like to employ that combination in actual games.

Yes, you read that right. 76ers fans could see instances — actual, non-emergency instances, where the coaching staff will deploy Embiid and Drummond, two natural centers, at the same time and on the same floor.

Such plan, however, could prove to be detrimental to the 76ers’ best weapon — the Embiid post-up. Routinely one of the most efficient plays in the NBA, playing Embiid and Drummond together would, by default, shift Embiid to play as the nominal power forward as he at least boasts some semblance of a perimeter game.

In that very situation, opposing defenses would gladly encourage the 76ers to have them share the floor, as it would mean that they could harmlessly double Embiid constantly with Drummond’s man without fear of leaving an open man who can punish them on the scoring end.

Defensively, things could also take a hit. Drummond is not as agile as he once was, and shifting him to cover more ground defensively is a gamble. Ditto for Embiid, who should not be left chasing perimeter players given the way the franchise has become conservative in preserving his body.

Nick Nurse is smarter than all of us combined in basketball, but at first glance, the thought of Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond sharing the floor deliberately is not only bizarre, but also patently invites on-court dysfunction. Hopefully, he sticks to that configuration only in practice.