Why 76ers Started Marcus Morris Over Paul Reed vs. Timberwolves

For the first time during the 2023-2024 regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers competed without their MVP center, Joel Embiid.

Dealing with hip soreness as of late, Embiid expressed uncertainty about his playing status on Tuesday night following an overtime loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Typically, when Embiid’s playing status came into question in past games this season, he always suited up and competed. This time around, it was different.

The Sixers ruled Embiid out of Wednesday night’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The move didn’t come as a total shock since Embiid played a season-high 41 minutes in Tuesday’s game.

During the preseason, when Embiid missed three out of four matchups, the Sixers made the obvious move to start his primary backup center, Paul Reed, at the five spot. This time around, Nick Nurse shook up the plan and shocked the public by starting Marcus Morris alongside Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, and Nic Batum.

“I just wanted to give us a chance to have five guys on the floor to space the floor, give us good spacing,” Nurse explained.

The first half featured a mixed bag of a performance from Morris. Through eight minutes, Morris knocked down just two shots for five points. He was a minus-4 as the Sixers trailed 57-48. The second half was a different story for the veteran forward.

“Looked really good to start the second half with that lineup,” Nurse explained. “Didn’t quite work out in the first, but I thought he had a good game. He stretched them a little bit. I thought he was physical and used his fouls like we wanted him to. He’s a good physical player. He was outsized, but I thought he fought hard.”

Morris caught fire from the field in the third quarter. Putting up six shots, with half of them coming from beyond the arc, Morris led his team with 11 points in the third quarter as he knocked down two of his threes and accounted for 11 points.

As a result of the Timberwolves establishing and pulling away with a major lead late in the game, Nurse pulled most of his key players as the final quarter progressed. Morris hit the bench with under three minutes played in the fourth quarter, and wrapped up his night with a 16-minute shift.

Despite being the only starter to check in for fewer than 20 minutes, Morris tied for a team-high in scoring with Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton, collecting 16 points on 50 percent shooting.

For Nurse, Wednesday’s game served as a great opportunity to see Morris in action as he continued to iron out the rotations.

“Obviously, again, it was a chance for us to look at him,” the head coach finished. “We just haven’t had hardly any chance to play him. It was a good chance to get him some rhythm and get him out there and see what he can do.”