Dominick Barlow's Sneaky Progression Poses Real Threat in Sixers' Offense

PHILADELPHIA — It's impossible to tell whether Dominick Barlow showed up to work in pajama pants as a fashion choice or because he rolled from his bed to his office on Saturday evening.

As Kevin Costner pointed out in Bull Durham, letting fungus grow on your shower shoes is only charming when you win 20 games in The Show. So Barlow can take the podium in his pajamas as a fashion statement when he goes for 21 points to help power the Sixers to a win on the second night of a back-to-back.

It was less than two weeks ago that there was real reason to ponder if Barlow could coexist with Joel Embiid for heavy minutes in a playoff situation.

That is not something that will go away. Barlow, the acting power forward, is taking jump balls even when Embiid is available. He's fortifying the interior defense with agility and length, covering up for the defensive prowess Embiid has either yet to recover or lost permanently.

In an ecosystem that prioritizes Tyrese Maxey, Embiid is attempting threes at the highest rate of his career. He's also shooting below 23 percent from deep.

It's natural to wonder if something has to give in a lineup that features a perimeter-oriented Embiid and a Barlow who will be guarded as a non-shooter when the stakes rise.

It's not as if that problem only existed in an idealistic but unrealistic world, either. Philadelphia has sole possession of the four seed in the Eastern Conference. It's tight, but it's theirs. They are two games up on the Play-In tournament. The Sixers are six games above the Play-In line.

If things continue in the direction they're trending, the Sixers were going to have to make a real decision about how to bolster a lineup that featured an inefficient Embiid while also not taking away from the defensive help Barlow has provided.

Would that entail a trade for a spacing power forward? Would it require shuffling lineups?

That was a valid topic to ponder very recently.

Barlow would catch the ball and be left wide open with his feet beyond the arc. He'd stare down a three and load into an uncomfortable-looking attempt or immediately look for the nearest teammate to facilitate a DHO.

It was predictable. It was easy to defend. Frankly, it was dangerous for the offense.

If Barlow was going to catch and not even so much as look at the basket before pivoting to someone to come help, his defender could play up and blitz the ball on the transfer.

But Barlow has changed his approach.

He's catching and immediately driving or catching and faking the DHO for a looping drive.

It's catching his defender off guard:

This pass to Barlow has served as a touch reset for the passer all season because Barlow has defaulted to DHOs with that teammate the majority of the time. So really pleasant development for Philly that he's starting to catch and drive with confidence. pic.twitter.com/Z0JwTB1KO9
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) December 21, 2025

Cooper Flagg plays off Barlow, the shooter. But he's flat-footed and upright against Barlow, the driver.

Barlow sees it and attacks Flagg, who is unprepared for the aggression. It's a good passing read to Andre Drummond, who has spaced to the corner while Davis is preoccupied with Barlow's rim pressure.

Teams will stick their weakest defender on Barlow because it's less taxing on the mind and body. Without a shooting pedigree, Barlow's man will sag off several steps. Not just because sagging off inherently protects against the drive, but also because it keeps a helper in position to pinch the paint.

"We have guards that demand a lot of attention."

Of course, the Sixers' four-guard offering makes this confident version of Barlow a better fit.

"Trying to change my mindset into we have guards that demand a lot of attention. Even if it's a fake DHO or just a straight line drive, guys aren't helping off as much," Barlow explained on Saturday night.

"So it's really just one-on-one and you're downhill and you have a step."

You can throw one of the guards on the side of the floor opposite Maxey and make the pass to Barlow, setting up a DHO scenario. The way he's progressing, he might just reject it and take advantage of the defense:

Not a remarkably high assist game for Maxey vs Dallas but this read was excellent.

Drummond gets behind AD, exposing the pass over top. Klay slides over to protect, which opens up skip pass to Barlow on the weak side. Maxey sees Klay pinching, fires it over to Barlow to punish. pic.twitter.com/sWMzxvg8RW
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) December 21, 2025

The other storyline here is that Barlow is doing it to punish mismatches. The diminished version of Klay Thompson is just one example. Barlow saw Jalen Brunson in his way on Friday and made up his mind quickly:

This is a very good progression for Barlow. His mentality off the catch has changed recently. pic.twitter.com/lwTWxBmwY2
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) December 22, 2025

This development isn't a secret. Barlow will tell you that positive reinforcement has helped make him a believer in his own abilities and decisions.

"Confidence and mentality are definitely a thing. My coaches tell me to be aggressive. I'm kind of always thinking second action. Just naturally. That's kind of what I've done in my career," Barlow said.

Barlow has rationalized the situations he'll be in when those passes come his way. He understands that he controls the outcome, and, therefore, he's simplified his job. It's just one-on-one.

"So, I mean, I'm an NBA basketball player so I can finish a layup at the rim if I beat my man. But, yeah, I think mindset, mentality, confidence is a thing and just having your teammates and coaches believe in you in that makes it a lot easier," Barlow said.

As for what comes next, consistency is key. Barlow is just 22 years old. This can be a step forward in his development rather than a blip on the radar.

The playoff issues that emanated from Ben Simmons being a non-shooter were a different basketball context than this one is. Simmons was engaged as a point guard until he looked bad doing it. Then he accepted sitting in the dunker's spot because it was out of the spotlight and less likely to put him at the foul line. But when his fears kicked in, he froze. As the lead ball-handler, that meant the offense froze.

Barlow is never functioning as a lead ball-handler in any environment with this group. If he freezes dead in his tracks, the offense keeps going. And unlike with Simmons, this progression involves leveraging disrespect to find opportunities to be aggressive. Barlow is seeking spaces and attacking gaps, making his man pay for backing off.

If Barlow keeps doing it, maybe they'll start selling pajama pants around the concourse in Xfinity Mobile Arena.