PHILADELPHIA — Now that we’re a little more than a month into the 2025-26 NBA regular season, the early returns in the Eastern Conference reveal two phrases:
Depth. Margin for error.
Many of the teams that currently sit at the top of the standings possess those two virtues. The Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat are arguably the three deepest teams in the East, if almost 20 games are to be trusted. The fourth team to crack the top of the East standings, the Cleveland Cavaliers, haven’t had as much injury luck but have been able to mix and match around their two healthy stars, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
The absence of both depth and health, to this point, is starting to define the Philadelphia 76ers. Yes, they head into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Orlando Magic with a 9-7 record. Yes, Tyrese Maxey has been a virtual superstar early on, most notably in his career-high 54-point outburst against the Milwaukee Bucks. Yes, the Sixers have played hard every night, shown resilience and tried to do everything in their power to turn things around this season.
But over 82 games, playing with spirit, fire and energy only takes a team so far. At some point, it needs to be healthy, with some continuity. At some point, it needs to trot out the same lineups, night after night. And if it can’t do that, it had better have enough depth throughout the roster to compensate.
This is where the Sixers are coming up short in some notable games.
“Yeah, we have to do the best that we can,” Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse said. “We have to plug in who we can plug in, and we have to do what we need to do. We have to start who’s next in line and figure out the matchups. We have to make decisions. Some of them work and some don’t. The ones that don’t work, we have to change them. We have our discussions, and we have to try and do what’s best for the group.”
The Sixers have suffered loads of injuries this season, which clouds the picture of who they can be. Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Adem Bona have all been in and out of the lineup in some capacity. Jared McCain is still shaking off the rust after multiple surgeries, although he is starting to look more like himself. The carnage has forced the Sixers to look deep within their group — and rely on two-way contract players such as Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker.
That’s where their depth, or a lack thereof, comes in. The Pistons, Heat, Cavaliers and Raptors have all gone through portions of this season with multiple injuries and have kept their respective trains rolling on the proverbial track. The eye test shows a gap between the Sixers and those four teams, even if the standings haven’t shown it as much as they could. Philadelphia, to its credit, has beaten the teams it is supposed to beat without suffering any bad losses. Its margin for error, however, appears smaller than other East playoff hopefuls.
Looking at both sides of the discussion, the question needs to be raised: Are the Sixers 5-7 in their last 12 games because they lack the depth to compensate for the absences of multiple starters and rotational players, or should they get a pass for struggling a bit of late, knowing the fragility of their health coming into the season? In other words, can this team stay the course with a revolving door of a lineup, or does it need to operate at peak health to truly have a chance to crack the top four (or even six) of the Eastern Conference?
“Who is in the lineup is something that we don’t control, but we know that we’re playing good teams,” Philadelphia center Andre Drummond said. “It’s hard to find a rhythm when we have so many injuries, but that’s no excuse. Our game (Sunday against Miami) was winnable, and we made a few mistakes down the stretch. We just have to go out and get them next time.”
The 76ers haven’t played one game with their preferred starting lineup of Maxey, Embiid, George, Oubre and rookie VJ Edgecombe, who is slated to miss his second straight game on Tuesday due to calf tightness. Coming into the season, Nurse, the coaching staff and the front office were at least hoping to have one game with this quintet at some point early in the schedule.
The vision is certainly there. It’s intriguing to think about how Maxey, Embiid and George can mesh when all three play together, or how Oubre and George could be as a two-way tandem at the forward spots. It’s intriguing to think about the quality bench depth that results when Quentin Grimes, McCain, Justin Edwards, Barlow and Trendon Watford are all throttled down into their intended roles on the roster.
Of course, one should acknowledge that Embiid will probably be relegated to being in and out of lineups, perhaps for the remainder of his career. It’s a good thing that he’s looked like himself offensively this season when he has played. While athleticism has waned a bunch, his size and skill are so overwhelming that his lack of relative athleticism isn’t a hindrance, at least offensively. But his presence will probably come in doses.
Philadelphia’s season may come down to how healthy it can stay around Embiid. If Oubre and George can stay on the floor with Maxey and Edgecombe and the role players, what does the Sixers’ ceiling look like? Can the 76ers then create a margin for error that can potentially vault them into a top-four seed? Maxey has been heroic this season with his production, but how long can he produce with this kind of usage and playing load? George and Embiid need to start contributing to some of that heavy lifting if the Sixers are going to make a dent in the standings.
Otherwise, Philadelphia could struggle as it continues to wade into the 82-game schedule. While the 9-7 record is a solid start that begs to be built on, it seems like the Sixers must be blessed with good health to do so. And that’s always been the adventure.
“The good thing is that I feel like we have guys who have done a great job coming in and stepping up when needed,” Grimes said. “We’ve done a great job of having a next-man mentality. We’ve had a good energy and a good mindset, and that’s what we need to continue to have success.”
