Wing rotation remains Sixers’ biggest rotational puzzle

Danuel House Jr. and Marcus Morris chatted side-by-side while walking from the 76ers’ bench to the floor following a second-half timeout before Joel Embiid interjected with his hands and voice to offer more instruction.

Those three players had not previously shared much on-court time in the past two-plus weeks. It’s an example of the Sixers’ ever-changing wing hierarchy through their first 10 games, the primary rotational puzzle that coach Nick Nurse is still trying to assemble.

The 8-2 Sixers went from not having enough forwards (and too many centers) during the summer to potentially having too many after Kelly Oubre Jr. signed in September and Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and KJ Martin joined via the James Harden trade. Recently, though, the Sixers have swung back to needing virtually all of those players, after Oubre fractured a rib when he was allegedly struck by a hit-and-run driver on Saturday night, and Batum missed Tuesday’s 132-126 loss to the Indiana Pacers and Wednesday night’s game against the Celtics due to a personal matter.

» READ MORE: Kelly Oubre Jr. broke his rib when he got hit by a car. Here’s how that injury is treated, and when he might be back

All of this has required regular lineup experimentation from Nurse, along with understanding and patience from those players affected.

“I’ve never been a player to go up in the coach’s office and be like, ‘Hey, Coach, what’s going on?’” said House, who did not score in Tuesday’s loss but was a team-high plus-12. “I trust his process. He’s the coach. The organization hired him to make sure they would take care of them and us, to make sure that he’d get us where we need to be.”

Nurse and multiple Sixers have referred to the wing options as a “good problem,” a product of what Furkan Korkmaz believes is their deepest roster in the past three or four seasons.

Without Batum and Oubre on Tuesday, though, Covington slid into a starting role and scored two points in 16 minutes. Morris, who had played less than 13 total minutes so far this season, got 18 against the Pacers and finished with two points and three rebounds. House played in multiple lineup combinations during his 18 minutes, including at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters and down the stretch. Korkmaz saw two first-half minutes. Martin even got in the game for a bizarre reason, when he was incorrectly sent to the free-throw line by the Pacers after teammate Tobias Harris left the game for concussion protocols and remained on the floor for 35 seconds.

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“The difference this year is Nick is trying to get everybody in,” Korkmaz told The Inquirer. “It’s not like he chooses three guys and then lets those guys play 15 or 20 minutes. If it’s three minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes, whatever the minutes, he just puts people out there. It’s still early [in the] season. He’s just trying to find a way for the real rotation. … There [are] opportunities for everybody.”

Communication from the first-year staff to those players about those fluctuating roles and responsibilities is key.

When the coaches learned of Oubre’s injury, for instance, Nurse said they “huddled real quick” to reach a consensus on the new pecking order that put House and Korkmaz back in the mix. While the Sixers did not hold a Sunday shootaround to drill those changes before beating the Pacers, Monday’s practice offered more time to prepare.

Though Korkmaz always tries to embody the “stay-ready” mantra, he still sometimes fights against “overthinking” about why his playing time might vary from game to game. Covington, meanwhile, told The Inquirer he is “not worried” about remaining on the bench during Tuesday’s fourth quarter because “the more we get acclimated with everything, the more we’ll be able to get more comfortable.”

Hours before his accident Saturday, Oubre spoke about the dueling “hungry, ambitious side” that always wants to be on the floor during the most critical minutes and the “professional, sacrificial side” that understood “it must be really hard to try to figure out pieces and groups and lineups with all the talent we have on this team.”

“Being one of the best teams, Godspeed,” Oubre added. “You can’t really argue or have any other non-positive feeling towards it, because we’re winning.”

Nurse got a look at the initial version of this wing group during last month’s training camp when he praised the collective tenacity but said executing defensive concepts could go a long way in determining who plays. Oubre, Danny Green, and Jaden Springer got the most opportunity behind former starter P.J. Tucker during the preseason, while Korkmaz and House nursed injuries.

Following the blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers — which included Green being waived to clear a required roster spot — Oubre took Tucker’s spot as a starter. Covington was the first newcomer to get a shot while guarding superstar Kevin Durant during a Nov. 4 win over the Phoenix Suns. Batum then immediately received minutes after returning from his initial absence to handle the personal matter, then was elevated into the starting lineup Sunday when Oubre was sidelined.

Nurse, meanwhile, desired Korkmaz’s combination of ballhandling and shooting in a Nov. 2 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Later, the coach liked House’s toughness while playing alongside guard Patrick Beverley and big man Paul Reed to begin the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win — and tried the same combination on Tuesday. Morris’ spotty minutes before Tuesday had partially been due to conditioning because he was away from the Clippers during the preseason for personal reasons.

More movement with this personnel group is sure to come, as evidenced by Beverley and House being tasked with trying to slow Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton in crunch time. After the game, Covington said he hopes to be fully caught up on offensive plays and defensive terminology in about a week. Throughout any season, role players regularly have their minutes and responsibilities tinkered with because of injuries, matchups, and other factors.

“I’m just glad I don’t have to make those decisions,” Embiid said. “That’s up to Coach to figure out who plays and who gets the minutes. I guess it’s a good problem to have.”