76ers star Tyrese Maxey speaks up on situation that led to LeBron James starting at center
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Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ershave been getting creative with a short-handed frontcourt, even sliding LeBron James to center. After Sunday’s loss, Maxey made it clear the team would welcome some reinforcements.
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“If some of our tall guys could come back, that would be great,” he said after the game.
The 76ers fell 106-93 to the Detroit Pistons at Xfinity Mobile Arena, suffering their first loss of the season and dropping to 3-1. With the roster thinned out, head coach Nick Nurse started James at center alongside Maxey, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jaylen Brown and Dean Wade.
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It marked the first time since the 2021-22 season that James started a game at center. Nurse said before tipoff that he thought James was “fine there.”
The lineup was largely a product of necessity. Joel Embiid sat out the second night of a back-to-back as part of the team’s long-term plan to manage his right plantar fasciitis, even though he said he felt good enough to play. He was coming off a 28-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in Saturday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The rest of the injury report did Philadelphia no favors. Tacko Fall was out with a left quad strain, while forwards Jabari Walker and Dominick Barlow were also sidelined. VJ Edgecombe missed the game with an abdominal contusion. Nurse noted the injury report was filled with “fours and fives,” leaving him with few options in the middle.
Philadelphia paid for it early. Detroit raced out to a 25-7 lead and took a 56-44 advantage into halftime. The 76ers clawed back from a 21-point deficit to get within four, but they never got over the hump.
Maxey led the way with 29 points despite picking up two early fouls. James added 18 points and five assists in his return from back management, while Brown struggled to a 5-of-20 night for 16 points. Adem Bona gave the 76ers a lift inside with six points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Cade Cunningham paced the Pistons with 26 points.
James, 41, has shown he can hold his own at center in a pinch, but it is not a role Philadelphia wants him playing every night. Until Embiid is back and the rest of the frontcourt gets healthy, Maxey and the 76ers will have to keep finding ways to make it work.
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