The Sixers are searching for a new identity, one without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey dominating the ball

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct 13, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers believe they’ve found their equalizer.

Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr., VJ Edgecombe, Jared McCain, and Paul George should all be elated. No more standing stationary in the corner, watching the Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey two-person game.

“A little more ball movement, a little less of maybe zero- or one-pass offense,” said coach Nick Nurse, “and then worry about the spacing because I know there’s going to be enough of that probably in there.”

The Sixers opened the 2023-24 season with a similar offensive philosophy. Despite success, they quickly went away from their designed balanced attack. And it was easy to understand why.

Embiid and Maxey were the NBA’s highest-scoring duo, averaging 60.6 points per game.

While limited to just 39 games — primarily due to a torn meniscus in his left knee — Embiid averaged 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 33.6 minutes. Meanwhile, Maxey had a breakout season, averaging 25.9 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds. That earned him his first All-Star berth and the league’s Most Improved Player distinction.

While their two-man play was impressive, the Sixers struggled to get others involved. A prime example was the first half of their 97-89 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 20, 2024.

Embiid had 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting in the first half, while Maxey had 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting. However, no other teammate had more than two shot attempts. That led to a lot of standing around and watching Embiid and Maxey play in a closer-than-expected opening half. The Sixers clung to a 46-45 halftime lead.

While the Sixers stepped things up after intermission, they’ll need to find more balance moving forward. They were fortunate to be playing a struggling, undermanned Hornets squad.

And things didn’t change last season, as George, then a first-year Sixer, learned that playing with Embiid was a bigger challenge than anticipated.

In 18 games with Embiid last season, he averaged 14.2 points on 41.2% shooting from the field — including 31.0% on 3-pointers — along with 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals. However, in 23 games without Embiid, the nine-time All-Star averaged 17.8 points on 44.1% shooting, including going 39.4% on 3s, along with 5.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals.

Some tend to have a tough time playing with Embiid because he’s a ball-dominant, highly skilled 7-foot-2 center in an era when perimeter players usually dominate the game.

In addition, Embiid is a methodical, face-up type of scorer. He thrives on catches in the post, turning around, and surveying the defense while the offense runs through him.

How is he adapting to playing in this pass-happy, free-flowing, uptempo style?

“There’s probably a little bit more movement and cutting and all that kind of stuff, but he has [adapted],” Nurse said. “Again, it’s a bit of a departure from the way he plays.

“So, there’s been some kind of ups and there’s been some kind of back to that, which is pretty good. That’s the hard part about it. It’s like you come down, you don’t run anything, and you run a Joel-Tyrese screen-and-roll. There’s a lot of great stuff that happens out of that. I just think we’re trying to get a little more variety.”

Variety is good, given that Embiid has played only 58 combined games over the past two regular seasons. Even though has practiced this fall, he sat out the first three exhibition games. And the Sixers say they don’t know when he’ll play this season, which starts Oct. 22.

George and McCain are also sidelined.

George has yet to participate in five-on-five scrimmages after having arthroscopic left knee surgery in July. The Sixers haven’t given a timetable for his return.

Meanwhile, McCain underwent surgery to repair an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right thumb on Sept. 30. He will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks.

The Sixers don’t want to rush Embiid back from April’s arthroscopic left knee surgery. It was his second left knee surgery in 14 months and his third in nine seasons.

The Sixers will need to be more balanced to make up for when he’s not in the lineup. And they have to take advantage of their perimeter players’ scoring ability.

“I think that one of the reasons we did it — I’ve explained a lot of them — I think just to get some passing,” Nurse said. “I do think there’s some variety where we can run stuff for Q [Grimes] or we can run something for Jared or we can run something for Tyrese or we run something for Kelly. There’s lots of … options. Almost infinite options if you’re playing that way.”

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