The Sixers' starting lineup on Monday night will look much different than expected.
As the 76ers are set to take on the Toronto Raptors for their preseason opener, the team has quite a few players sitting out, which will shake up the starters.
As expected, Ben Simmons will not appear on the court in a Sixers uniform on Monday night. As the 25-year-old guard continues his holdout from the team as he desires a trade, he has yet to show face in Philly since the Sixers dropped Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs last year.
Along with Simmons, the Sixers will also be without two centers on Monday. Sixers rookie Charles Bassey, who has yet to debut outside of the practice court, could not make the trip to Toronto on Monday night as he is finalizing his work visa, according to a team official.
As for Joel Embiid, the Sixers wanted to give the big man the night off. Considering Embiid has been a full go at practice this past week, it only makes sense for the 76ers to ease their highly valuable center back into the mix.
Then lastly, Sixers veteran forward Tobias Harris was added to the injury report on Monday afternoon. As the notable veteran suffered a minor knee injury, the Sixers are being cautious with Harris and leaving him out of the lineup on Monday as he's dealing with knee soreness.
With Embiid and Harris out for the preseason debut and Simmons continuing his holdout, that leaves the Sixers with three vacant spots in the starting lineup. As expected, Tyrese Maxey will fill the void of Simmons at the point guard position.
As for Harris and Embiid, they will be replaced by Andre Drummond and Georges Niang. Drummond is no stranger to starting in the NBA. Prior to becoming Joel Embiid's primary backup, Drummond was a star for the Detroit Pistons from 2013 to 2019. These days, he's been reduced to a backup role, though.
The 28-year-old Niang is in a slightly different position, however. During his four-year stint with the Utah Jazz and a one-year stint in Indiana, Niang has only started in 11 of the 229 games he appeared in. On Monday night, though, he'll see his role increased as Harris will get some rest in order to allow his knee to heal up.
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