The Philadelphia 76ers are in the unenviable position of having to construct a roster that can be successful with and without their two biggest stars, Joel Embiid and Paul George, given their injuries and injury history.
Roster construction is one part of the equation for the Sixers, and the other will be whether head coach Nick Nurse can utilize his players to help them succeed. Philadelphia has plenty of questions in the front court, but the back court seems a bit more secure.
With the addition of the No. 3 overall pick, VJ Edgecombe, and the hopeful return of Quentin Grimes alongside star Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, the Sixers will have an issue of arguably too much guard talent and the burden of figuring out how to use it. That’s where Nurse is going to have to get creative.
Taking a look at the guards, they all need their fair share of minutes, but which of the four fit together best?
Quentin Grimes
While Grimes is still unsigned, the consensus is that he will either settle for his qualifying offer with the hopes of hitting free agency after this upcoming season or sign a deal with the Sixers for a longer term. For the Sixers, they’re not inclined to meet the early offseason rumored asking price of $20-$25 million per season.
While Grimes was truly impressive during the Sixers’ second half of the season, enough to feel he’s earned a major payday, he is also on his fourth team in two seasons and was never really able to earn the freedom and minutes he enjoyed last season on any other team.
Anyone would want to cash in on that type of performance, but Grimes’ options are limited, and he’s not expected to play any sort of similar role. Grimes will not replace Maxey, and despite maybe needing time to work back in after his season-ending injury last year, McCain won’t sacrifice minutes to Grimes either.
So, where does Grimes fit in this season?
Grimes could realistically partner with Maxey in the starting backcourt. While Maxey would be the primary facilitator, Grimes could work off the ball to get open looks on the perimeter or cut to the basket.
The key to his success will be willingly stepping into a support role. If he’s looking to cash in on free agency next year, he’s going to have to show what he can do in limited minutes this season, play the best he can, and hope that a team will take a chance on the potential if he were one of the main guards.
If Grimes has a hard time adjusting to that smaller role, especially after the freedom he was given last season, the Sixers have others who will.
VJ Edgecombe
Edgecombe is a wildcard this season. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse doesn’t historically use rookies, if he can help it, but Edgecombe will likely force his hand. It’s not often that a hopeful contender adds such a young, dynamic player.
The question then becomes, how do you get the most out of him while still having such a talented backcourt group?
Edgecombe can be a nightmare in the open court on offense while providing a high level of defense. While he struggles somewhat with his handles and shot creation, the Sixers should be a more athletic team that can use him to his strengths. Even having the 6-foot-5-inch rookie play some minutes at the small forward position wouldn’t be out of the question if the team runs a small-ball style lineup that focuses on transition and speed.
For VJ, the key is to make sure his defense translates into scoring opportunities. Edgecombe has also worked on his shooting mechanics and timing to the point where he’s a solid three-point shooter. The rookie’s upside points to Nurse being forced to use him in all types of situations, and while that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be a starting guard, he should be getting the minutes he’ll need to show why the team selected him.
Jared McCain
Before his injury, in just 23 games, the rookie guard had seemingly pulled away as the early favorite for rookie of the year last season. He was averaging 15.3 points per game on 46% shooting as well as hitting 38.3% on his three-point attempts, all in just under 26 minutes per game.
McCain was truly a steal of the draft.
Again, this goes back to the coaching, but McCain had to earn those minutes while fans clamored for him to be on the court, and the amount of injuries the Sixers faced to open the season opened the door for him to succeed. In his second season, McCain is expected to take the next step in his development and, if he remains healthy, be a huge part of the Sixers’ offense.
McCain is not a great defensive player, to his detriment, as he lacks the lateral quickness and athleticism of someone like Edgecombe, yet his intelligence sets him apart. For the team to be successful, they’re all going to have to buy into a defensive mentality, and McCain is no exception. He may not be the best defender, but his intelligence will be what gets him steals and can help the defense, leading, of course, to his true value, which is scoring.
The big issue for McCain will be ensuring minutes in a crowded backcourt while also slowly bringing him back from the injury he sustained last season. While he should be ready for full-speed games come opening night, the team certainly doesn’t want to risk anything happening to the young star. By Christmas, it’s not unreasonable to believe that McCain will be starting in the backcourt with Tyrese Maxey as the best starting duo for the Sixers.
Tyrese Maxey
It’s sometimes hard to believe that Maxey will only turn 25 years old at the very start of the season. He’s become a huge star in the city and one of the better guards in the league. While his shooting numbers were down the past two seasons, it should be remembered that Maxey was on the court with little help, allowing defenses to focus solely on him. In addition, Maxey saw career-high or tying marks in rebounding, assists, and steals as he put so much pressure on himself in the position he was in.
After spending a season and a half with James Harden, Maxey has learned a lot, and you can see it in his game. He’s incorporated the step-back, and he uses it to take shots or draw the defender in, so that he can get by him for a drive to the basket, much like Harden has spent a career doing. He’s also seen the game slow down, and despite playing with a rotating lineup of G-League call-ups, Maxey was able to match his career high in assists per game with 6.2, the same number as the prior season.
With the return of McCain, the addition of Edgecome and Watford, along with Edwards, Grimes, Bona and Johni Broome, the Sixers are a more more athletic team, and will be able to play at a faster pace this season and with the type of talent on the team, it’s not out of the realm that Maxey could average nine assists per game.
Only four players last season averaged more than nine assists per game, with the usual names of Haliburton, Jokic, Young and Cunningham at the top. For Maxey, it’s going to take a combination of factors, but it’s truly simple for him to be in that group. Nurse has to make Maxey the main facilitator of the offense, whether or not Embiid or George are on the floor.
If you’re committing to younger and athletic, then the team has to be Maxey’s, and the rest of them can fall in line, if or when they play. The other is to have him recognize that he doesn’t have to do it all himself and that moving without the ball when players like McCain or Grimes have a handle on it, he’ll free himself up for the open shots he was making at a higher rate, earlier in his career.
If Maxey truly buys into being in control of the offense and has confidence in the much better talent this season will provide him, combined with the natural ability he possesses, then being over nine assists per game is completely within reason and would be a huge part of the team’s success. Maxey regaining his All-Star status while elevating himself into the conversation of one of the top guards in the league is completely within his reach.
For the team
Having as many young and talented guards as the Sixers have wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for the fact that the three veterans all possess the same skill set—and for the most part, so does VJ Edgecombe. But if the Sixers use each one to their strengths while maneuvering them throughout the lineup together, it could make for a very successful season despite missing two other star players.
All of this is going to come down on the head of Nick Nurse, who’s going to have to rethink his whole strategy for coaching and play-style for this year’s team. If it’s not working out or isn’t sorted out quickly, it could wind up being another long season for Sixers fans and a very short one for their head coach.
In the end, it’s a very good position to be in for the coach, the team, its fans, and the future of the Sixers.
