The 76ers are off to a great start after winning three of their first four games, but right from the get-go, they have shown a few weak points that they must address over the course of their campaign. Case in point? Look no further than their persistent issues when it comes to securing boards. In all of their contests so far, they have been outrebounded by their opponents pretty handily, but fortunately for them, there is a pretty quick fix already on the roster.
As Tyrese Maxey pointed out recently, the easiest fix for their rebounding woes is simply to get their injured big men back. Joel Embiid has been healthy, but the team has been adamant in keeping him out of back-to-backs. Adem Bona has suited up, but he is not yet fully healthy. Meanwhile, both Dominick Barlow and Tacko Fall have yet to see action this season.
The 76ers have a pretty obvious fix to their persistent rebounding woes
Given that they are currently shorthanded at center, Nick Nurse has had no choice but to play small for the most part, with Jabari Walker and LeBron James seeing minutes as the nominal five. As such, it is actually not surprising to see the team struggle on the boards, especially since that problem has been a trademark of this squad for quite some time now.
Be that as it may, there is no reason to panic in that regard just yet. The 76ers should be getting their reinforcements at the position soon enough. Barlow and Fall, while not exactly rebounding savants, will at least give the coaching staff a viable option to help them out in that department.
If the addition of those two in the fold will not be enough to patch things up on that end, the front office should have ample room to make changes and bring in other big men who can help them secure boards better. After all, the 76ers already had flimsy depth at center anyway after the season-ending injury to Ariel Hukporti.
For now, Philly has not been buried deep by their inability to win the rebounding battle, but they cannot possible rest their laurels and hope that they can just gloss over that part of the game and still win. They have a bunch of rivals squads who tout physically imposing lineups, so at some point, it must end up being a major, if not a main, point of emphasis.
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