That is not what happened. The Sixers lost to the Pistons, 116-93, on a night they never led after the first 150 seconds of the game. Detroit’s depth completely overmatched that of the Sixers, as Embiid’s absence caused a few different rotation players to scale their roles up a bit too much against one of the NBA’s better defenses. With their signature toughness and physicality, the Pistons crushed the Sixers in the rebounding department, generated many more scoring opportunities and earned a victory that fell in line with their identity.
The game was not without positives for the Sixers – three players had particularly strong nights – but any this stage of the season, when any loss or win could decide whether or not the Sixers have to enter the NBA Play-In Tournament, silver linings from losses do not carry much weight.
Some takeaways from the Sixers’ penultimate home game of the 2025-26 regular season:
Sixers run out of offensive firepower against Pistons’ stout defense
While Detroit entered Saturday’s game with a rest advantage, an Eastern Conference-best 56-21 record and the chance to clinch the No. 1 seed with a victory, the Sixers had a real opportunity to steal another impressive win. They were missing Embiid, but Detroit was without Cunningham as well as defensive stalwart Isaiah Stewart while Jalen Duren was playing through an illness.
However, in Cunningham’s absence the Pistons have proven to possess more than enough capable scorers and shot creators to form a viable NBA offense, and on Saturday the Sixers were without answers for Daniss Jenkins, Jalen Duren and the rest of Detroit’s balanced rotation. A strong three-point shooting night bolstered the Pistons’ effort, but so did their terrific physicality on both ends of the floor. They dominated the glass all night; Embiid’s size was clearly missed the night after what was his best game of the season as a rebounder and rim protector.
Paul George, who has been outstanding on all fronts since returning from his 25-game suspension, continued to look the part of a player who can completely change the Sixers’ ceiling. Tyrese Maxey was efficient from the outset. VJ Edgecombe, after a quiet offensive game a night earlier, shook free for some impressive buckets. While the Sixers’ defense was more problematic than their offense in this game because of those three standout showings, they got little to no offensive juice from the remainder of the rotation. The Sixers have won plenty of high-scoring games this season and, especially when Embiid is available, have proven to be capable of putting up tons of points.
Lately, the Sixers have done a better job of utilizing players like Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes within the construct of their idealized roster. But on Saturday, both players reverted back to old habits, where they often felt invisible for extended stretches as the primary scorers dominated the ball. The Sixers only shooting decently from three-point range hurt them, too, as they were thoroughly dominated in the possession game.
Nick Nurse makes another tweak to his starting five
When his team has been at full strength, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has settled into a starting lineup that includes Dominick Barlow, because the 22-year-old has proven to be such a terrific fit with Embiid. When Embiid has been out, though, Nurse has typically stuck with Barlow despite his numbers going down dramatically. Before Saturday’s game, Nurse smiled when asked if he had considered replacing Barlow in the starting lineup when Embiid is sidelined. An hour and change later, it was Oubre starting alongside Paul George in the forward spots.
Nurse said pregame that he tries to resist urges to craft overarching conclusions about lineups and combinations based on individual games, but maintained that Barlow’s impact on games becomes much more pronounced when Embiid is out there. He has closed games with Oubre on the floor alongside George anyways; Oubre is a more versatile defender with more offensive utility.
Starting Barlow gives the Sixers their clearest pathway to a sound 48-minute rotation plan. That does not mean the starting five he is included in should considered the team’s best unit.
So, as Nurse smirked and discussed the idea of playing Barlow off the bench on nights he cannot capitalize on Embiid’s gravity, it became clear where he was leaning.
Even without Embiid, Barlow is a rotation-caliber player for this team. He is just about a non-shooter on the perimeter, and it is fair to worry about his playoff viability. Nurse has hesitated to close games with Barlow on the floor all year long. Playing alongside Embiid, he should be fine. But if the Sixers are playing postseason games and Embiid is registering heavy minutes totals, it should not be challenging to ensure Barlow never has to share the floor with Adem Bona or Andre Drummond, which exacerbates his lack of a three-point shot.
Odds and ends
Some additional notes:
• After settling into an eight-man rotation centered around the pairings of Embiid and Maxey plus Edgecombe and George, Nurse went to a 9.5-man rotation on Saturday, bringing Cam Payne back into the mix in search of an offensive spark and giving Justin Edwards a few spot minutes late in the first half. That left Jabari Walker and Trendon Watford on the outside looking in. But at halftime, Payne was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a right hamstring strain.
• As has become the norm over the last two years, old friend Tobias Harris was not treated like one; Harris was booed every time he touched the ball. Paul Reed, however, received modest applause. Perhaps his back-to-back missed free throws late in the fourth quarter, giving fans a chance for free chicken nuggets, were intentional.
Up next: The Sixers will depart for their final road trip of the season, with a matchup against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs coming up on Monday night.
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