The Philadelphia 76ers are experimenting at the moment as coach Nick Nurse looks to push the right buttons to ensure his team’s success without Joel Embiid.
Philadelphia has won two in a row with Nurse turning to a different starting lineup. He has inserted Kyle Lowry into the starting unit alongside Tyrese Maxey in the backcourt and Mo Bamba has moved into the starting center spot.
After the Sixers picked up an impressive 120-116 road win over the Dallas Mavericks, the lineup with Lowry and Bamba was the subject of conversation.
“Everybody’s kind of figuring out just our chemistry overall,” Tobias Harris told reporters after the win. “We knew it was gonna take some time having new guys and figuring out ways to be successful out there, but Kyle does a great job of getting us organized out there and putting us in great positions. He’s such a threat as well to shoot that 3-ball and getting in the middle of the lane and kicking it out, and Mo Bamba’s doing a great job of protecting the rim and being a force in the paint so we just have to stay at it.”
Lowry shot 1-for-9 on Sunday, but he had seven assists to lead the team in that category and he was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. The Sixers are able to get into a rhythm on the offensive end with him running the point guard spot.
Then there’s Bamba, who had eight points and five rebounds starting while Paul Reed returned to his bench role and poured in 13 points and seven rebounds. Bamba is able to use his size at the rim while Reed can hop off the bench and give Philadelphia a boost with his energy and activity level.
“I think he’s comfortable in that role,” Tyrese Maxey told reporters of Reed. “Yeah, I mean, that’s the role he plays when big fella’s (Joel Embiid) here. So I think it just got him going, man. He’s out there playing with a lot more energy. I think he likes it. Mo Bamba, it’s good for him to start. He likes it. He said he doesn’t get cold. He’s always warm out there right after warm-ups. And he’s been playing good.”
The Sixers were able to get Kelly Oubre Jr. going a bit. He scored 21 points off the bench with 19 coming after halftime. Philadelphia has been looking to find a way to get him moving in the right direction again and Sunday may have been it for him.
Overall, Lowry and Bamba moving into the starting lineup unlocks a lot of new possibilities for Philadelphia moving forward. They just need to keep moving in the right direction.
“It’s funny because we’ve been headed in the right direction I think as soon as after the trade deadline,” Maxey finished. “We lost some of those games, but we’re playing the right way. Guys are contributing. Guys are going out there and doing what their job is and competing extremely hard. So that’s what we have to do.”
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