Getting through the preseason healthy is always priority No. 1 for NBA teams, and once again, the Sixers couldn't make it through theirs unscathed. The team announced Sunday that center Richaun Holmes suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist during Friday's preseason game against the Boston Celtics, and is expected to be re-evaluated in three weeks.
They were even so kind as to pinpoint when it happened, which made it easy to find on video. It's quite strange, really, because Holmes doesn't appear to be in any pain when he takes a spill:
We'll have to take the team's word for it here. It's a bummer for Holmes, who showed real promise when given an opportunity in the second half of last season and was a near-perfect partner for Ben Simmons in pick-and-rolls. It's nothing dire, but the injury creates another question mark for a team that doesn't really need to add any more uncertainty.
Amir Johnson will get to earn that hefty paycheck
Most of what you hear about Amir Johnson from the coaching staff centers around his professionalism and character. Those are all well and good, but the Sixers are going to need him to actually produce with Holmes on the mend.
Johnson and Holmes have been in a tight battle during training camp, fighting to be the primary backup to franchise center Joel Embiid. In the team's first two preseason games, both bigs got an opportunity to play with the starting unit, and neither one did much to distinguish themselves from one another.
It's likely Johnson's job to lose now, at least until Holmes comes back. He's not going to offer much in the way of upside, but he's a fairly reliable defender and has turned into a decent floor spacer in recent years. All he needs to down is knock down open looks like these, and he'll provide value on offense.
He doesn't offer the same athleticism and energy Holmes does, but that cuts both ways; Holmes can be a little
too hyperactive at times, chasing blocks to his own detriment on the defensive end.
Johnson was signed by Bryan Colangelo in the offseason as a bit of an insurance policy, providing the team with a steady vet in the event Embiid misses major time. A different center is on the shelf now, but the logic remains the same.
Jahlil Okafor will get a chance to showcase
How you view Jahlil Okafor's preseason depends heavily on how you view him as a player. For those who focus on his offensive gifts, it has been an encouraging start for the young center. His new vegan diet has allowed him to slim down, but he has remained efficient as ever on the offensive end.
If you're like me, however, it's hard to see past the defensive limitations he brings to the table, vegan or not.
Either way, the injury suffered by Holmes gives Okafor an opportunity to get a foothold in the rotation, or at least a chance to show off what he has to a potential suitor. Longterm, the Sixers and Okafor remain a poor fit for one another, and that's unlikely to change regardless of how well he plays over the next month or so.
Still, this will be Okafor's first chance to play with high-level playmakers since turning pro, and theoretically, his soft hands should pair nicely with Simmons and Markelle Fultz. Provided he shows a willingness to make more contact on screens — far from a given — Okafor can deposit some easy buckets after his young guards turn the corner on pick-and-rolls. So long as he's in the right place, his guys will find him.
From a big picture perspective, this could be the last real shot the Sixers have at boosting Okafor's trade value. They have until October 31 to make a decision on whether to exercise the fourth-year option on his contract, which feels fairly unlikely at this juncture. Should they decline to pick that up, whether out of a desire to preserve cap space for next summer or disinterest in Okafor as a player, it would signal to teams around the league how little they value his services, killing whatever trade value he has left.
Knowing that, there has always been incentive for the Sixers to highlight Okafor's strengths before the Halloween deadline comes and goes. With more minutes available for big men at the moment, Okafor has every chance to prove himself.
Brett Brown will have to put on his thinking cap
It was true before the injury and it remains the same now: the Sixers will go as Joel Embiid goes. If he's able to play a reasonable amount of games this season, the playoff dream will become a reality.
The Sixers do need a competent backup to spell him, however, and Holmes fit the bill there. Holmes is a sub-par defender who doesn't come close to matching Embiid on that end, but his skillset was a perfect blend with the team's young backcourt. As Fultz and Simmons adjust to the new NBA, they need willing screeners and players who can finish in traffic. Holmes does exactly that.
Behind Embiid, the Sixers are now left with a pair of options that come with pretty obvious downsides. Johnson doesn't offer the same dynamism as a roll man, and Okafor clashes stylistically with the type of offense the team wants to run.
The obvious solution is to make sure Embiid plays as many minutes as possible, but to state the obvious, that's easier said than done. The Sixers want to maximize the impact they get from Embiid this season, which doesn't necessarily mean increasing the volume of his minutes on a per-game basis.
If Okafor and/or Johnson can't get it done, Brett Brown has a couple more options to throw into the mix. Dario Saric is burly enough to get away with playing spot minutes at center, and though you wouldn't want him to deal with this bruising for extended stretches, Simmons is big enough to play as a point center against the right matchup. There are worse things than having an athlete like this at the pivot:
Offensively, having guys like that at center would be a coach's dream, adding a level of skill you usually don't see at the position. If the defense is going to be sub-standard anyway, turning the offense up to 11 is one way to work around the problem.
Brown will likely hope he doesn't have to use MacGyver-esque tactics to get by without Holmes, but he will do what he must to hold down the fort.
