Getty Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons
The Philadelphia 76ers were dealt some bad news Tuesday afternoon ahead of their game against the Detroit Pistons. Star point guard Ben Simmons, who’s dealing with back tightness, was downgraded from questionable to doubtful, leaving him unlikely to play in this game.
In turn, the Sixers are looking at a big change to their starting lineup and it’s one that drastically impacts their bench as well. Along with the Simmons news, Philadelphia will have offseason acquisition Mike Muscala available to make his debut against the Pistons.
With all that news being taken into account, let’s take a look at the Sixers’ starting lineup as well the players who could potentially see playing time Tuesday.
Philadelphia 76ers’ Starting Lineup With Ben Simmons Out
C: Joel Embiid
PF: Dario Saric
SF: Robert Covington
SG: Landry Shamet*
PG: Markelle Fultz
The 76ers have started Markellle Fultz over the first three games of the year, but he’s played shooting guard to this point. Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer revealed Fultz would slide over to the point in Simmons’ absence, which makes sense. The second-year guard has struggled at times this season, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field while averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game.
It was originally expected the Sixers would start JJ Redick at shooting guard, but instead opted to keep his scoring with the second unit. The starting nod next to Fultz went to rookie Landry Shamet.
Update
*As Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer revealed, the Sixers have opted to start rookie Landry Shamet next to Fultz, leaving Redick as the first player off the bench.
#Sixers starters: Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Joel Embiid, Landry Shamet and Markelle Fultz
Philadelphia 76ers’ Projected Rotation With Ben Simmons Out
*Note: This includes players who have seen playing time and/or are expected to see the court against the Pistons.
C: Joel Embiid, Amir Johnson
PF: Dario Saric, Mike Muscala
SF: Robert Covington
SG: Landry Shamet, JJ Redick, Furkan Korkmaz
PG: Markelle Fultz, T.J. McConnell
I’m not sure if Furkan Korkmaz will see a huge bump in minutes, as he’s only averaging 5.3 this season. Muscala should see a big boost while playing the stretch-four role Ersan Ilyasova filled for the team last season. Amir Johnson’s size will also be needed against the Pistons’ duo of Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin so his 13.7 minutes per game could increase.
One key area worth mentioning is the guard spot. T.J. McConnell and JJ Redick will play big roles off the bench and be the primary scorers for the second unit. Both players have seen solid minutes over the first three games, and Redick remaining with the second unit moved Shamet into a starting role.
Sixers coach Brett Brown did opt to play McConnell over Fultz in the fourth quarter of their last game, so expect the 26-year-old to see solid minutes.
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