PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have had to get creative with lineups ever since Joel Embiid went down with his meniscus injury in late January. Coach Nick Nurse has played a lot of different lineups and has given a lot of guys different looks.
Paul Reed has received the majority of the starts with Embiid out. Mo Bamba has recently gotten a look as a starter against teams with bigger players due to his size and Nurse has looked at smaller options such as Nic Batum and KJ Martin playing some small ball 5 off the bench.
In Wednesday’s 115-109 loss to the Grizzlies, the Sixers had a tough time keeping Memphis off the boards in the fourth. Philadelphia was out-rebounded 19-12 in the final frame with Memphis coming up with 11 second-chance points.
Reed, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds on the night, played 6:27 in the fourth. He, like the rest of the Sixers, played well in the first three quarters before things fell apart and he fouled out with 3:00 remaining. Philadelphia turned to Martin before he fouled out as well.
Reed knows he contributed to the Sixers losing the contest as he had issues not fouling Jaren Jackson Jr., but the smaller lineups are not his favorite.
“I mean, besides me fouling out?” Reed told Sixers Wire about what went wrong in the fourth. “I feel like we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds for sure. I’m not the biggest fan of going with the small lineup. I feel like we give up rim protection. We give up rebounding. I feel like the defense is more important than the offense.”
Reed isn’t necessarily wrong. Batum and Martin are not going to block a bunch of shots and Reed had two blocks in the fourth. Bamba is also a proven shot blocker and rebounder.
“From what I can see, from my perspective, when the two rim protectors are out the game, that’s when teams go on their runs,” Reed added. “I feel like we need that rim protection and we need that extra length that helps rebounding. That’s essential, you know?”
Again, Reed brings up good points. Batum and Martin are not exactly going to break rebounding records, but they are both smart players who can play the 5 in a pinch. At the moment, the Sixers are in a pinch without Embiid and they have to be creative in order to remain successful. Batum and Martin have been helpful for the Sixers in those lineups.
Nurse has been able to push the right buttons on the floor so Philadelphia can stay afloat. The key at this point is to keep surviving until Embiid can return. Maybe Nurse goes big the next time the Sixers are in this position. Either way, it will be interesting to watch what happens the next time Philadelphia is faced with that situation.
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