Sixers Might Not Have a Single Healthy Center Against Pistons

Do you really need a center to win an NBA game in the Year Of Our Lord 2026? The Sixers might try to find out Thursday against the Detroit Pistons.

Joel Embiid (oblique) and Johni Broome (meniscus) had already been ruled out long before the NBA's 12 p.m. injury report dropped on Thursday. Adem Bona (back soreness) was initially listed as questionable on Wednesday, but he has since been ruled out. Additionally, Andre Drummond has been added to the injury report as questionable due to back spasms.

Those aren't the only Sixers who'll be sidelined for Thursday's game against the East-leading Pistons. Paul George (suspension), Tyrese Maxey (finger) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (elbow) are all out as well.

The Pistons will be without starting wing Ausar Thompson (ankle) and backup wing Caris LeVert (wrist), along with a bunch of end-of-the-bench players. However, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and the rest of their key players—including former Sixers forward Tobias Harris—are not listed on the injury report.

Do the Sixers stand a chance against Detroit?

The Sixers are currently 15.5-point underdogs against the Pistons, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That may be underselling just how screwed they are in this game.

The Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak Tuesday by annihilating the Brooklyn Nets, 138-100. They're up 2-0 in the season series over the Sixers, although both victories came by single digits. Granted, Maxey and Oubre played in both of those games.

Embiid missed both of those early-season matchups against Detroit, which left Drummond to draw the start in both instances. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the Pistons' 111-108 win on Nov. 9 and 12 points and 11 rebounds in the Pistons' 114-105 victory five days later.

With Embiid, Bona and Broome all sidelined Thursday, Drummond will have a chance to post his third straight double-double in as many games against Detroit if he's able to suit up. Beyond that, the Sixers will have to take a center-by-committee approach. Dominick Barlow, Trendon Watford and Jabari Walker could all see time as small-ball 5s.

Granted, Detroit is just about the last team that anyone would want to be short-handed against in the frontcourt. Duren earned his first All-Star nod this year by averaging a career-high 18.6 points along with 10.6 rebounds per game. Behind him, the Pistons have Isaiah Stewart and Sixers legend "BBall" Paul Reed.

If the Sixers somehow keep this game competitive for long enough, there's a non-zero chance that Duren tries to one-up Bam Adebayo's 83-point eruption from Tuesday night. He'll face little resistance doing so thanks to the injury-ravaged state of the Sixers.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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