Nick Nurse discusses juggling lineups as Sixers deal with injuries

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at 9-7 after a loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon. The Sixers were once again short-handed as they were without Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr., Adem Bona, and prized rookie VJ Edgecombe due to injuries.

While the injury bug hasn't nearly been as bad as the 2024-25 season, the Sixers are once again dealing with these issues as they work their way through the early part of the season. Credit has to go to coach Nick Nurse and his staff as they have found a way to win games, but it's also another challenge for the Sixers as they juggle lineups in an effort to find production from everybody.

In the loss to the Heat on Sunday, the Sixers were at a serious size disadvantage when Andre Drummond went to the bench as Miami's Kel'el Ware used his size to dominate in the paint. Nurse turned to Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker in the lineup, but it didn't work well. It's back to the drawing board for the coaching staff.

"I mean, just the best we can," Nurse said of how he juggles lineups. "We’ll plug in and do what we think we need to do. Start who we need. Who’s next in line, try to figure out what the matchups look like, who we're playing, all that kind of stuff, and try to make some decisions that work. Some of them do. Some of them don't, obviously, right?"

It's hard to blame Nurse for Philadelphia having trouble with Ware and Bam Adebayo on Sunday. The Sixers just didn't have the personnel to handle those two and Nurse did the best he could. He has a good staff and they are looking to figure it out on a nightly basis.

"There’s a lot of thought and lots of decisions that go in there," Nurse added. "We're not going to get them all right. We know that, and we just try to keep discussing it, and keep going with what we think is going to work. If it doesn't work, we try to change it."

As far as the players are concerned, all they can do is go out there and perform and hope for the best. Drummond 14 points and 24 rebounds and was a big reason why the Sixers had a chance late. They didn't get the job done. It's on to the next one.

"I think, the guys that do play, we play to the best of our ability," Drummond added. "We're playing good teams, and it's hard to find a rhythm when we're not knowing who we're playing with on a nightly basis. So, still not an excuse. I think this game was very winnable for us. Just a few mistakes on the stretch of the game. It's a good team. Miami is a great team. So, we’ll get them next time."

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Nick Nurse discusses juggling lineups as Sixers deal with injuries