76ers: Will Joel Embiid and Al Horford Share the Court Again?

The Philadelphia 76ers' starting lineup had an awkward fit throughout the majority of the 2019-2020 NBA season. When the entire lineup was healthy, the Sixers attempted to run with Joel Embiid and Al Horford playing alongside each other. After a while, the experiment began to grow stale to Brett Brown. 

So before the All-Star break, Horford found himself coming off the bench. The former Boston Celtics center wasn't happy about his new role -- but he accepted it. Soon enough, though, Horford found himself back into the starting lineup due to injuries.

Now that the Sixers are healthy while down in the Orlando bubble for the NBA's restart, Horford is back to his early February role of coming off the bench. For the first few practices, Sixers coach Brett Brown admittedly wasn't sure of Horford's definitive role as we move closer to the season's resumption.

But there is one thing Brown seems to be sure of -- that's the idea that Horford and Embiid probably shouldn't share the floor together. After being asked if Embiid and Horford have played together in the same lineup during team-wide scrimmages, Brown briefly made it clear that hasn't happened.

"Joel and Al have not played at this stage together," Brown quickly stated before practice on Tuesday. While it seems the Sixers are going to avoid utilizing any lineup containing Embiid and Horford at the same -- the Sixers' 2019 free-agent acquisition believes that just because he hasn't played alongside Embiid in practice, doesn't mean it won't happen in a future game.

"I haven't [talked to Brett Brown about playing with Joel Embiid]," Horford mentioned on Tuesday. "The reality is that it's going to happen at some point. I think we'll be fine. I do understand the changes and things like that, but I don't want people to make more of this than what it is. The reality is that we'll be fine. We'll be playing together at times, and at times we won't."

While some might believe Horford is frustrated with coming off the bench being a starting-caliber center, he accepts his coach's plans. And not only is he content with coming off the bench at this point, but Horford seems to look on the bright side of the situation and puts the league on notice by mentioning Philly's health and depth.

"The biggest thing for us is that we're all healthy now," the Sixers' big man said. "The team is healthy, and we're ready to go. Teams are going to have to deal with the depth that we have." The 76ers are set to continue the regular season on August 1st with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_