Sixers mailbag: How Andre Drummond’s three-point shooting changes things; what should Jared McCain’s plan be?

There are many legitimate causes for concern with these Sixers, but an 8-5 record with little to no availability from the two highest-paid players on the team is nothing to sneeze at.

Perhaps the causes for concern should incite some inherent optimism. Last year’s Sixers crumbled at the mere thought of adverse circumstances; this year’s group faces them head-on and has continually found ways to overcome their flaws.

With that being said, if the Sixers want to reclaim their right to call themselves championship contenders, there is a whole lot of work to be done, from the aforementioned availability issues at the top of the cap sheet to shaky areas of depth and correcting troubling trends.

Today is Tuesday, which means it is time to answer your questions. This week, we are focusing on two very different players:

From @LukeSchimeneck: Do you see a scenario in which Jared McCain fits into the rotation at all?

Long-term, my answer to this remains an emphatic yes. I am a strong believer in McCain’s upside and believe his strong mental makeup will enable him to maximize his skills. Even a guard-heavy team can use someone with McCain’s blend of shooting, scoring and on-ball craft; the best version of the 21-year-old is a stellar off-ball weapon and a satisfactory ball-handler. The Sixers have largely been dominated when Tyrese Maxey has rested this season; McCain is the strongest internal solution to those issues.

But, clearly, McCain is currently not the best version of himself. He is now four appearances and 36 minutes into his second NBA season and has been completely incapable of generating off-the-dribble advantages; McCain has still not scored. His two-game stint with the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League represented progress, but not enough to reverse his fortunes much. McCain did not record a single stat other than his five minutes of play in the Sixers’ win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, and as much as he is trying it just does not look like his mobility is close enough to its typical levels for him to impact an NBA game.

McCain did get chances to play prolonged stretches in his two games with the Blue Coats, and he made a clear leap from his first game there to his second game. After the Sixers held their morning practice, I asked head coach Nick Nurse if sending McCain back to Delaware for any period of time has been considered.

“Not that I’m aware of, no,” Nurse said. “Not yet.”

At this juncture, it is hard to come up with an argument against McCain going back to Delaware for at least a little while. What does appear clear to me is that the current arrangement – McCain playing one or two short stints in NBA games – is not accomplishing much.

There are two competing objectives right now: the Sixers winning games and the Sixers getting McCain back to himself. Which one of those are they nearing by playing McCain for five unproductive minutes in a game? There is not much of a balance that can be struck; McCain’s minutes against the Clippers did not help the Sixers win or help McCain get closer to finding his peak form.

Strong arguments can be made in favor of both lanes here. McCain is extremely important to the Sixers now and moving forward, and nobody should blame them if they decide to play him more minutes than he has been so far at the expense of their chances of winning an individual game. Conversely, it would be entirely understandable if the team opted to send him to Delaware for an extended period so Nurse can focus on using his best players and McCain can try to get right in a lower-pressure environment.

To date, the Sixers have unsuccessfully tried to split the baby on this. It will only make a difficult process more excruciating.

MORE: McCain on time with Delaware Blue Coats: ‘I’m getting there’

From @kellenpastore.bsky.social: How real is Andre Drummond’s shooting? He is hitting the few he takes at a good rate, but will that ever translate to guys guarding him in the corner?

From @AndrewCBelton: Drummond is off to a great start, do you think we’ll see more experimental Drummond and Joel Embiid lineups? If Drummond is willing and able to shoot, you’d think he could play some minutes with Embiid knowing that we need his rebounding.

I am going to answer both of these questions at once, because they go hand in hand.

Drummond and Nurse have been adamant all along that the veteran center was a reliable corner three-point shooter now, and he has made half of his 14 tries from there in the first 13 games of the season. It is a small sample size, but when combined with the team’s preemptive faith in Drummond shooting corner threes – likely based on internal shooting numbers kept by the team in its own Camden gym with a much more significant sample size – it is at least slightly compelling.

But, to answer the second part of the first question, the answer is almost certainly no. Particularly because the Sixers already have so many dynamic offensive threats on the floor, teams will never have the bandwidth to worry about Drummond floating to the corner. If anything, they will be pleased they never have to handle him on the offensive glass.

Even if Drummond’s green light lasts all season, the key will be balancing when he should space the floor in case a shot opens up and when he should be ready to try to revive a possession as a rebounder. For now, Nurse thinks Drummond is handling that balancing act perfectly and wants the 32-year-old to take around two three-point attempts per game.

And, to be clear, part of Drummond’s success as a three-point shooter must be attributed to the fact that his shots are almost always unguarded. No shooter is better when their shots are being contested, and a Drummond three over a strong closeout from a defender is not a good shot. Nurse has encouraged him to shoot because he is wide open.

That leads me to the second question. Defenses are not going to defend Drummond as a three-point shooter, and they will view leaving him open out there as a much more attractive option than letting Embiid find any sort of breathing room. I do not expect Nurse to end up using Embiid-plus-Drummond lineups because that is when Drummond’s shooting goes from an amusing and useful luxury to something that the Sixers would begin relying on. The urge to make more of this surprising development is natural, but the more prudent path with Drummond’s three-point shooting is to leave good enough alone.

MORE: Drummond changing minds with three-point shooting

From @MrEd315: What letter grade do you give the Sixers so far for their record and effort? Better yet, why that grade?

How does an A-minus sound?

The Sixers are on a 50-win pace when Embiid has played in just six of their 13 games and Paul George has only made one appearance. McCain has barely played, and his minutes have been a clear negative. But Tyrese Maxey has performed like a superstar, VJ Edgecombe is way ahead of schedule, Quentin Grimes has filled in gaps on both ends as an elite sixth man and veteran role players like Drummond and Kelly Oubre Jr. have outpaced expectations. After one of the most miserable seasons in recent NBA history, the Sixers have turned themselves into a team that is genuinely enjoyable to watch, even when they are undermanned.

MORE: George talks ‘rusty’ season debut, next steps after ‘challenging’ recovery process

Beyond the record and the stats, the most encouraging aspect of the 2025-26 Sixers season so far centers around Maxey. Yes, he is performing like an All-NBA honoree, but he has also completely taken over as the team’s leader. Before the season began, Maxey spoke with tremendous passion and conviction about wanting to set a standard for the Sixers moving forward, one that is evident from night to night regardless of which players are available. It sounded idealistic and unrealistic at the same time; how can a team built around an injury-prone seven-footer who plays the game at a methodical pace have an identity that never changes no matter the personnel? But these Sixers know who they are no matter what, and Maxey deserves an enormous amount of credit for the work he has put in on and off the floor to help establish the standard he desired.

So, why only an A-minus and not an A or even an A-plus? First of all, the Sixers have already have multiple avoidable losses. But the fact that Embiid has missed more than half of the season so far and George has only played in one game is not exactly a random occurrence; they are arguably the two most injury-prone players in the NBA signed to max contracts. This is part of what the Sixers signed up for and a critical idea they had to keep in mind as they build their roster.