The Philadelphia 76ers have run into a major issue early on this season. The team is lacking depth at the center position.
In Sunday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, the Sixers were thin to the point where they had to start LeBron James at center, with Adem Bona being the only true backup at the position.
After getting dominated on the glass, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey had a simple solution to the problem—get the tall guys back on the court.
“If some of our tall guys could come back, that would be great,” Maxey told reporters. Well, that’s easier said than done for the 76ers, who can avoid the injury bug.
Tyrese Maxey Gives Blunt Solution For 76ers’ Struggles vs Pistons
Going into training camp, the 76ers didn’t have Adem Bona for the entire preseason due to a setback. Just a few minutes into the preseason, the 76ers lost Ariel Hukporti to an Achilles injury.
The two-way center Tacko Fall went out with a setback just a couple of days into training camp, and hasn’t returned to the court yet.
Going beyond the traditional options, the Sixers have Jabari Walker and Dominick Barlow to look at if they want to keep LeBron James and Dean Wade in their primary positions. But Barlow hasn’t debuted yet as he deals with a back injury. And Jabari Walker suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Going into Sunday’s action against the Pistons, the Sixers missed Joel Embiid, Walker, Fall, Barlow, and Hukporti. Clearly, Maxey and the rest of the team are hoping to see the depth improve when they return to the court on Wednesday.
At the very least, the Sixers should get Joel Embiid back. Since Sunday’s game was the second leg of a back-to-back, Embiid got the night off as planned.
The Sixers are set to face the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, October 28.
