Getty Philadelphia 76ers guard Jimmy Butler
The Philadelphia 76ers are set to roll out a shorthanded roster and starting lineup Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. With Joel Embiid ruled out for rest purposes and Jimmy Butler sidelined due to a wrist injury, it’ll be the Ben Simmons show in this game. The Sixers’ depth will get tested in a big way here, as Wilson Chandler has also been ruled out, creating a new-look lineup.
The Sixers have played incredibly well as of late, winning seven of their last 10 games and five of the last six. The most recent stretch has included wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. Philadelphia’s date with Denver marks the start of a four-game road stretch with a few big tests.
We’re going to take a look at the Sixers’ roster for this game and also evaluate the latest on Butler’s injury status, which includes a positive update.
Sixers Roster & Starting Lineup vs. Nuggets
| Position | Expected Starter | Backup | |
| Center | Mike Muscala | Amir Johnson | |
| Power Forward | Jonah Bolden | ||
| Small Forward | Corey Brewer | Furkan Korkmaz | Haywood Highsmith |
| Shooting Guard | JJ Redick | Landry Shamet | |
| Point Guard | Ben Simmons | T.J. McConnell | Shake Milton |
With the three starters out of the lineup, it means the Sixers will roll out Corey Brewer, who recently signed his second 10-day contract, along with young forward Jonah Bolden and Mike Muscala. The trio will join Simmons and JJ Redick as starters, and all five members should see plenty of opportunities to produce.
Specifically, Redick and Simmons may shoulder a far larger scoring load while names like T.J. McConnell, Landry Shamet and Furkan Korkmaz will be asked to do more off the bench. The sample size for usage among the above group with Embiid, Butler and Chandler off the floor is pretty tiny, but points to Redick, Simmons, Korkmaz and Shamet seeing big jumps.
As Basketball Monster shows, Redick has only played 44 minutes this season without the three starters on the floor but averages 34.0 points per 36 minutes along with 4.9 assists. Simmons’ scoring average also jumps from 18.5 points per 36 up to 23.2.
Latest on Jimmy Butler’s Injury
Although Butler’s wrist injury has cost him three games now, there was originally some concern over the severity of it. The All-Star guard visited a specialist in Los Angeles Friday, but as Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported, the injury was confirmed as a sprained wrist.
As seen above, the expectation is that Butler will be able to return Tuesday for a nationally-televised date with the Los Angeles Lakers. While he’s posted modest numbers through the start of his tenure with the Sixers, Butler has increased his averages as of late. The former Timberwolves star has posted marks of 21.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists through eight games in January.
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