Revamping The Sixers’ Starting Lineup

By Kevin McCormick, Sports Talk Philly Editor

One big issue for the Sixers this year has been fit. This team has been struggling to try to take the talent they have and maximize it. 

Recently there have been small rumblings about changing up the starting lineup. More specifically, sliding Al Horford to the bench. This could help with spacing, something that has been hindering the Sixers on offense. 

Asked Brett Brown whether he has considered moving Al Horford to the bench to switch things up.

“It’s kind of all on the table,” down the stretch as they try to find a mix that works.

“If [that] is going to make us a better team, we will do that.”

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 7, 2020

This is something the Sixers should seriously consider trying. If they do decide to slide Horford to the bench, I think it is clear who should take his place in the starting lineup. 

Furkan Korkmaz has been having a career year this season. His game has improved greatly, and he has turned himself into an everyday rotation player. 

After losing out on JJ Redick in free-agency, Korkmaz has established himself as the three-point specialist of the Sixers. This has earned him a chance at a regular run in the starting lineup. 

The Sixers look like a different team when Korkmaz gets going. He draws a lot of attention from defenses, opening up more room inside for guys like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to work. 

Korkmaz opening up the floor on offense could do wonders for this team. We have seen that the Al Horford experiment has not worked out as well as we might have hoped. Horford is on pace to shoot the most threes in a season for his career, and his percentage is four points down from his career average. 

Having Korkmaz on the wing instead of Horford adds much-needed shooting to the lineup. On the year he is now shooting 39.1% from deep, giving Simmons and Embiid a reliable shooter on the wing to dish the ball out too. 

The #Sixers are 7-2 when Furkan Korkmaz scores 17+ points. His production in a game is more important than people think.

— Brian Michael Jacobs (@BrianMikeJacobs) February 8, 2020

Korkmaz has shown he can be effective with the minutes bump. On top of seeing him start in 11 games this season, He is shooting at least 41% from three in games where he plays at least 20 minutes. 

Having Al Horford as a super-sub also makes the Sixers look a lot deeper. He has looked much better playing at the center position, something he would be able to do more being the first guy off the bench. 

Horford could be the anchor for the second unit. He would be able to do a lot more pick and roll with ball-handlers like Shake Milton and newly acquired Alec Burks. Along with helping facilitate the offense when most of the starters are off the floor. 

Brett Brown has tried all season to try and make Al Horford work in the Sixers’ lineup, but it has shown that he looks less effective when sharing the floor with Embiid in large samples. 

Korkmaz could start the game and help with spacing and getting himself going early. While Horford could close the game with the other four starters when the team is looking to lock down on defense. 

The Sixers are in desperate need of a shakeup. With this minor change in the starting lineup and some new faces added to the team, this could help the Sixers find the identity that they have been looking for.