Philadelphia 76ers: Doc Rivers’ assumed starting five looks really good

The Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach has jokes too.

Objectively speaking, it’s not too difficult to figure out who will be in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ starting lineup when they open up the 2020-21 season against the Washington Wizards on December 23rd.

Sure, everything is subject to change, and the team is literally one Daryl Morey phone call away from having to completely reconfigure their scheme to include James Harden and a few fewer role players. With that being said, barring injury, it would appear a starting five of Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid will in all likelihood be on the court at opening tip two days in Christmas Eve Eve, and for the vast majority of the team’s games thereafter.

But when Doc Rivers was explicitly asked this question during his training camp availability, Austin‘s dad decided to have a little fun with his response in the best way possible.

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See what I mean? Rivers’ answer is both 100 percent accurate and also an expert troll for an obvious question. I don’t think some Philadelphia 76ers fans realize just how good we have it.

Now on paper, the aforementioned lineup makes the most sense for more reasons than one.  After suffering through a starting five woefully understocked with 3 point shooters, the addition of veteran guards like Curry and Green should seriously bolster the offensive firepower surrounding Simmons and Embiid.

Factor in Curry’s auxiliary playmaking abilities and Green’s exceptional perimeter defense, and the Sixers’ starting unit should be far more dynamic and, therefore far more lethal than the 2019-20 edition, which seldom shared the court together for more than a handful of minutes at a time.

But wait, there’s more.

By keeping the team’s “veterans”  Together on the proverbial topline, the team will be able to pepper in younger players like Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, and Matisse Thybulle, as opposed to giving any of the under 25-year-olds a bigger role than they are ready for right out the gate.

Alternatively, the team could also incorporate a ‘line changed second unit where Maxey, Milton, and Matisse Thybulle check onto the court together alongside veterans Dwight Howard and Mike Scott, giving the starters a chance to catch their breath. Rivers had some success running a three guard lineup after trading away Harris in 2018; why not try something similar with Maxey and Milton splitting point guard minutes a la Patrick Beverley and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?

Factor in the return of Furkan Korkmaz, who is entering the final year of his two-year, $3.3 million contract, and the Sixers should have a bevy of interacting options to go to when they need a spark coming off the bench.

But make no mistake about it, this team will very much sink or swim based on the strength of their starting five – the real starting five that even Rivers knows he’ll likely rely on this winter.

Setting aside your personal preferences or admiration for that one specific role player you always knew could be better with a different coach, the Philadelphia 76ers’ new-look starting lineup is easily the team’s best since they ran out Ben Simmons, J.J. Redick, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid against the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Could this team have a similar ceiling? Only time will tell, but with a quick-witted coach like Doc Rivers on the sideline, it’s clear anything is possible.  After all, he was the team’s biggest on court addition this offseason.