Philadelphia 76ers: The Ideal Starting Lineup

Up to this point in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 0-10 efforts aimed at another early lottery pick in next year’s draft, Brett Brown has displayed six different starting lineups in only 10 games, with nine different guys seeing action as a starter.

You can credit a banged up roster that’s seen Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel missing time, but for the most part, the blame falls on a roster that simply lacks worthy starters.

With the losses now in double digits, while the Sixers are still chasing after that much-needed first win, we should begin to start seeing a more competitive starting lineup, but who will make up that ideal roster for Brown?

Point Guard-Michael Carter-Williams 

Carter-Williams is the only guy on this roster who’s job isn’t up for grabs and after coming of the bench the last three games back from his shoulder injury, we can expect to see MCW back as he starting floor general tonight against the Celtics.

Carter-Williams is often the only guy on the roster that consistently seems confident in their abilities and has let that be seen as he’s averaging 16 points, six rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in his first three.

As the reigning Rookie of the Year and only true facilitating threat Philly has, there’s no reason MCW should begin another game on the bench.

Shooting Guard-Tony Wroten

Tony Wroten has been the biggest offensive weapon for the Sixers thus far, averaging 19.1 points and six assists in ten games, which is why Wroten is so crucial in the starting lineup for Philly.

Ideally, Wroten would likely fit best as an explosive scoring sixth man coming of the bench, but with the Sixers struggling to even stay competitive early on in games, any bit of offensive contribution Wroten provides early on in key.

Small Forward-K.J. McDaniels

Despite arguably being the most pleasant surprise for coach Brown off the bench, K.J. McDaniels is proving hic case as a necessary starter more and more each week. McDaniels made his lone starting appearance against Dallas, which didn’t turn out to be the most successful night after a 123-70 loss.

But McDaniels has continually made progress towards proving himself as deserving of a starting role with his energy offensively and aggressive defense, which is something that’s lacking from the perimeter up to this point.

With Philly needing to have it’s most competitive talent out on the court from the beginning tip to even remain competitive through the first half, I think there’s a strong case for McDaniels to be inserted into that lineup.

Power Forward-Nerlens Noel 

Nerlens Noel is another guy who should pretty much be starting by default. Noel has come off the bench is three of his eight appearances, but as the team’s only real interior defensive weapon, having Noel in from the tip to make things a bit more difficult around the paint in crucial.

Every bucket counts when you’re the Sixers and there’s no question Philly has more energy on defense when Noel is in.

Although his offense is far from being any sort of threat outside of second chance points and capitalizing on dump-off passes, Noel is still needed as a starter, simply due to the lack of other options. There’s just no reason for guys like Brandon Davies or JaKarr Sampson to be seeing time as starters.

Center-Henry Sims 

And finally, as the trend continues with the 76ers, Henry Sims is unquestionably the only realistic option to start at center for the Sixers, which just speaks to a lack of noteworthy options. Although he hasn’t been great, Sims hasn’t played too bad either with 8.6 points and six rebounds per game.

But despite having decent numbers during his second year in Philly, Sims needs to be the consensus-starting center by default as the biggest body the Sixers have available at 6 6’10”, 248 pounds.

The paint is where the Sixers have taken most of their damage defensively this season, and despite Sims not being much of a defensive factor, having any of the other undersized options seeing starting options in the low-post would just make things worse on the Sixers right out of the gate.

As you can see, even with what looks to be the ideal Sixers’ starting lineup, proven talent comes few and far between for the Sixers, with no more than two guys who truly deserve to be starters.

But for a team that’s looking to end their 10-game losing streak before it gets too much more embarrassing, the best talent available should be on the court from the opening tip and these guys fit that description best.

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