The Philadelphia 76ers have won three games in a row, and while that’s not earth-shattering by any means, the atmosphere has never been better for the franchise this season. However, amid the cheers of the team starting to take shape and get healthier bodies, the coaching staff recently made a sudden change that isn’t talked about enough.
With Joel Embiid looking as healthy as he has in recent years, Nurse has gone against the grain of late, choosing second-year big man Adem Bona over veteran Andre Drummond as the first center coming off the bench to spell the superstar. That’s certainly a big change for the team, and while the sample size isn’t wide yet, it hints at the coaching staff’s vision for what the rotation would look like going forward. and then some.
Bona had relatively high expectations for him heading into the current season, although a rather slow start to the year derailed his growth early in the season. Now he’s slowly getting his mojo back, and the 76ers are rewarding him with significant court time to show he’s willing to usurp his more regular counterpart in Drummond.
The 76ers suddenly prefer Adem Bona over Andre Drummond
As everyone knows, Drummond had a commendable bounce-back campaign after the failed individual campaign he delivered last season. He has been more than capable of filling in for Embiid when sidelined due to injuries or rest, with some even believing he will be here to stay.
While that’s probably still true, the 76ers are prioritizing Bona — and rightly so. Philly desperately needs to shore up its cushion behind the injury-prone Embiid, and developing an internal candidate like Bona would go a long way toward improving this team’s position in the current and immediate future.
Fortunately, Bona is starting to clean up some of the mistakes that often land him on the shelf. He has made far fewer mistakes in the last five games, while his rebounding has improved even more. Of course, he’s still a capable shot blocker, although his post defense still needs work.
Going forward, the 76ers coaching staff will likely still play it by ear when it comes to choosing which big man to use off the bench. However, if Bona continues to develop, he will not only fill in the minutes available at center, but he would also provide the franchise with a potential floor booster that they desperately need at the position.
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