Few teams had as good of an offseason as the 76ers did.
Not only did Philadelphia re-sign James Harden to a team-friendly deal, but it acquired De'Anthony Melton in a trade and made a couple of important signings in free agency in P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr.
Depth was an issue for the 76ers last season. Now, they roll around 10 deep.
How will that impact the team's starting and closing lineup? Let's take a closer look.
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Projecting 76ers' starting lineup for 2022-23 season
Philadelphia's most-used starting lineup in the 2021-22 season was Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid. All five remain on the team, but Thybulle will likely be replaced in the starting lineup with Tucker, the team's biggest offseason acquisition.
Tucker is entering his age 37 season, but he's long been one of the best role players in the NBA. In addition to being a versatile defender, he's a threat from the 3-point line and a factor on the offensive glass.
A bonus: Tucker has experience playing with Harden. In fact, only seven players have ever logged more games with Harden than Tucker.
| Position | Player |
| PG | James Harden |
| SG | Tyrese Maxey |
| SF | Tobias Harris |
| PF | P.J. Tucker |
| C | Joel Embiid |
A lineup of Harden, Maxey, Harris, Tucker and Embiid features a good balance of playmaking, shooting and defense. Health provided, they should rack up a ton of wins.
Projecting 76ers' closing lineup for 2022-23 season
It's hard to imagine a situation where Harden, Maxey and Embiid aren't on the floor together to close games. The 76ers were dynamite when the three of them shared the court last season, outscoring opponents by an average of 15.1 points per 100 possessions.
As for who fills the other two spots, Harris and Tucker are the best candidates. Harris gives them more shooting and some on-ball juice while Tucker is the type of low-usage player you want closing games next to a pair of stars.
For what it's worth, Maxey, Harris and Embiid led the 76ers in total clutch minutes last season, followed by Seth Curry and Thybulle. Curry was included in the trade that brought Harden to Philadelphia and Tucker will likely steal a good chunk of Thybulle's minutes. Why? Dynamic of a defender as Thybulle is — he's earned two All-Defensive selections through three seasons of his career — he's a more limited offensive player than Tucker.
The 76ers do have options beyond Thybulle and Tucker. House is a solid defender and 3-point shooter, as is Melton. If they need strictly shooting, both Furkan Korkmaz and Georges Niang will let it fly.
That depth should come in handy should anyone get injured.
