The Philadelphia 76ers have a big question to answer now that they have made the bold move of removing Al Horford from the starting lineup. The question now becomes who replaces Horford in the starting lineup moving forward?
Coach Brett Brown has a ton of options that he can turn to and what we’re going to do is rank all of the options he can turn to:
Glenn Robinson III
Even though Brown turned to Furkan Korkmaz on Tuesday in the first game, that’s probably unlikely to continue despite his emergence lately. The Sixers acquired Robinson III from the Golden State Warriors and Brown loves his ability to be a two-way player. He can knock down an open 3-pointer on one end and play tough defense on the other end. He will get a long look as a starter for this team.
Matisse Thybulle
Thybulle has earned the trust of Brown on a high level and it’s well earned. He has one elite skill that a lot of other guys don’t have and that’s his defensive effort. He is already one of the better perimeter defenders in the league and it’s a skill that can keep him in a starting lineup and play big minutes. He can also shoot the ball too so he is another top option. The one drawback is that he has a tendency to foul a lot.
Furkan Korkmaz
As electric as Korkmaz was in their wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and the Chicago Bulls, he was a dud against the Los Angeles Clippers. He followed up back-to-back 30+ point games with a goose egg against the Clippers and while he has improved defensively, he still isn’t exactly good on that end of the floor just yet. He is capable of big shooting nights so he’s definitely an option, but his inconsistencies could hold him back.
Alec Burks
Burks is a scorer. The guy thinks score and when he gets into a groove, he can be tough to stop. The thing that will hinder him in this race is that he will probably be used in a much different role and Brown will want to bring him along slowly. His role is most likely a mixture of scoring plus ball-handling duties and with Josh Richardson already there, there’s no need for that in the starting lineup. He’ll be better suited off the bench while the other options offer a little bit of both. [lawrence-related id=25742,25754,25736]