This image is not yet fully idealized – VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. are among the Sixers who will remain sidelined – but the Sixers have managed to start their season with a 9-7 record despite a spate of high-profile absences and a pair of heartbreaking losses at the end of games.
With sixteen games in the books, what should we make of this team and its upside? What’s notable about their long time without Embiid? How could the selection change in the coming months?
We’ll dive into all that in another Sixers mailbag:
From @Boston_Conner: Do you realistically think this team will be one of the top six and avoid the Play-In tournament? With how safe they are against Paul George and Joel Embiid, plus the other injuries the 76ers have, do we have the depth and firepower for a full 82-game season?
Entering Tuesday’s action, the Sixers find themselves in the No. 7 seed of an Eastern Conference with little separation between many teams. The Sixers are just 0.5 games ahead of the No. 10 seed Boston Celtics and are just two games behind the No. 3 seed Miami Heat. With the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks both experiencing some growing pains early on, it was the Detroit Pistons who look like the powerhouse of the conference, with resurgent teams in the Toronto Raptors and Miami joining them at the top of the standings.
There’s still a tremendous amount of time left in the marathon, 82-game season, but the Sixers clearly have enough talent to potentially earn a top-six spot and a subsequent playoff berth. But will they do it? The fact that Miami and Toronto are maintaining their stellar starts to the season complicates the picture quite a bit; those who were optimistic about the Sixers’ playoff aspirations in the preseason did so in part because of how barren the Eastern Conference should have been. Two high-quality teams making a surprise appearance will make it harder for the Sixers to claw their way to one of the top six records in the conference.
Do the Sixers have enough depth to get through the season despite ongoing availability questions from Embiid and George? In the conference they compete in, the Sixers’ guard play is likely enough to get them a Play-In tournament floor. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that a postseason appearance should be considered the bare minimum given the talent on the Sixers’ roster and the lack of depth in their conference, even taking into account the unexpected growth of Miami and Toronto.
For now, the safest bet is probably that the Sixers are at the top end of the Play-In Tournament, at No. 7 or No. 8, where just one win would earn them a playoff spot. The Sixers were the No. 7 seed two years ago due to Embiid’s injury problems, but then brought him back and defeated the No. 8 seed Heat in an epic Play-In Tournament game before losing to the No. 2 seed New York Knicks in a stellar six-game series that easily could have gone either way.
It is ideal not to have to win an extra match for your play-off spot. But in this version of the Eastern Conference, a Play-In tournament participant could easily make a deep playoff run if he has the right pieces in place. It’s not the inherent death knell seen in the Western Conference.
MORE: Jared McCain on the rise, new backup center options emerge
From @Phillyfloyd: What is this team’s biggest weakness right now if you remove Embiid? Creation of a half job? Post defense?
The Sixers’ most obvious weakness when Embiid is sidelined is also the biggest drawback to playing a hobbled version of the former NBA MVP: the lack of a true defensive anchor.
For much of his career, Embiid’s mere presence has guaranteed elite defense whenever he has been on the floor. As he tries to regain mobility and confidence in his left knee, Embiid was a significant negative as a defenseman in 2025-26, though there’s no reason he can’t return as a top-level rim protector when that range of motion returns.
When Embiid is sidelined, the problem persists, even if it presents itself in different ways. Adem Bona is a great shot blocker, but he has missed time and his offense has been so tricky that his defensive production isn’t as valuable. Bona is also nowhere near a good enough defensive rebounder to be a consistent anchor on that end of the floor.
Meanwhile, Andre Drummond is one of the best rebounders of all time — the best ever if you ask him — but he’s never really been a shot blocker or rim protector. Multiple teammates have recently credited Drummond’s communication on the backline, and he has been on the floor for much of the time in which they have achieved a defensive turnaround in recent games. But more than a decade of numbers and film suggest Drummond is not a trusted defensive anchor.
However, it would be malpractice not to mention the scoring in the half court, where even though Maxey is playing like a true superstar, the Sixers have often been desperate for more offensive firepower in Embiid’s absence.
Embiid may no longer be the otherworldly, unstoppable scoring machine he once was, but he remains a high-volume, high-efficiency player whose ability to draw fouls is an especially crucial stabilizing force on offense. The Sixers are now better suited to address Embiid’s absences offensively than they may ever have been, but there have been many times over the past two-plus weeks where it’s been clear how much easier life has been for Maxey and co. when the ultimate crutch is there.
MORE: Unpacking the Sixers lineup and on-off data, focusing on Maxey
From @zmoseCOD: If they convert Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker to standard contracts now, can they use the “new” two-way spots and the 60 remaining available games on others? If we know they’re ready for the NBA, what’s the downside to converting now versus later?
For those not in the know, a summary of the facts referenced here:
Players who signed a two-way contract before the season can play a maximum of 50 NBA games, but teams can only have a two-way player active 90 times while having fewer than 15 players on their standard roster. The Sixers entered the season with an open roster spot, so any time they have one of Barlow, Walker or Hunter Sallis active, it not only counts toward that player’s 50-game limit, but also toward the team’s 90-game limit while there are fewer than 15 players.
For the Sixers, Walker has played in all 16 games so far, while Barlow and Sallis have made seven appearances each. That means Walker has 34 games left and Barlow and Sallis each have 43 games left, but the Sixers only have 60 opportunities left to activate a two-way player unless they fill their open roster spot.
Jabari Walker had three handy assists in the second quarter of the Sixers’ win on Tuesday.
Walker to PhillyVoice during preseason: “I like being in that area between the perimeter and the basket… As a playmaker and stuff like that, I like being in that position.” pic.twitter.com/FG7jqN4g08
— Clips by Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdamClips) November 12, 2025
So to get back to your first question: if Barlow or Walker is now converted, a a two-way spot would open up, and the Sixers could sign a new two-way player who would have a prorated number of available games based on the date they sign (they would be available for about 60 percent of the remaining games). But since the Sixers would then have 15 players on their default roster, the fact that they used 30 return days when there were fewer than 15 players would be irrelevant unless they were to deny another player to get back under 15. The complex 90-day rule would no longer be relevant here; the only focus would be each player’s individual availability number.
Regarding your second question: sSince they have an open roster spot, the Sixers could potentially convert Barlow or Walker as early as Tuesday morning if they really wanted to. They haven’t touched their mid-level exception, so they’re positioned to get a long-term contract rather than a deal for the rest of the season when the conversion happens, which in itself is a major boon. But don’t expect this to happen anytime soon; Even if the Sixers become adamant that both players should continue moving forward, they can be expected to exhaust the two-way availability of Walker and Barlow before making the conversion.
Dominick Barlow started on the Sixers’ opening night and grabbed five offensive rebounds in a one-point win over the Boston Celtics.
Every offensive rebound from Barlow scored points. It completely changed the game: pic.twitter.com/ijJUV5CMs7
— Clips by Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdamClips) October 23, 2025
There isn’t a huge downside to converting Barlow or Walker now. But in general, teams prefer to wait until a player’s two-way availability decreases to deflate their final cap on their standard contract for the year. It won’t impact dollars at all the following season if the team signs the player to a multi-year contract, but for teams like the Sixers, who are expected to pass the luxury tax threshold, it’s an easy way to save money without really losing anything.
With Barlow missing multiple weeks with an elbow injury, the Sixers were able to salvage some of his activation days. It is likely that Walker will need to be converted first. It ensures that the Sixers will be very close to the trade deadline by the time they exhaust the availability of those two players, depending on how strict they are in choosing when to give Sallis dressing nights.
Whether the Sixers end up as buyers, sellers or somewhere in mid-winter, the expectation should be that they make at least one trade. If that ends up being a deal where they consolidate two pieces for a rotation upgrade or even a salary dump, it will create the second open roster spot that will eventually be needed for both Walker and Barlow to get standard contracts. Unless the Sixers make a surprise early-season trade, I expect any conversions from two-way deals to standard contracts to wait until late January or early February.
MORE: Samaki Walker provided son Jabari with a “foundation” to pursue NBA dreams
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