For today and tomorrow, Labaron Philion needs more minutes

The Sixers are 7-1 after Monday night’s 126-107 victory against Chicago. Three of their next four games are against fellow Eastern Conference contenders in Detroit, Cleveland and Boston. Perhaps for that reason, Nick Nurse might not make drastic changes to a rotation that keeps winning. After all, the Sixers haven’t opened a playoff round at home since 2023 so locking up wins against other teams in the Eastern Conference now can only help for seeding later. However, there’s one glaring mistake with Nurse’s rotation that he needs to address.

When it comes to the bench, Nurse is playing Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope regularly. These are veterans who figure to factor into the playoff rotation as well come the spring. However, whether Labaron Philon sees the court in April and beyond or not, the rookie out of Alabama should be seeing more than the eight minutes per game he’s currently averaging. Even in a 19-point win against the Bulls, Philon played just two minutes.

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While Philon was drafted towards the end of the first round this past summer, now’s the time to find out what kind of player he could become. Of course, he can always grow into a bigger role next season and beyond, but should the Sixers set him on a path that’s essentially burning a year of his rookie contract? Maybe that’s a harsh way of phrasing things after only eight games, but it’s the realest way of saying Philon isn’t playing nearly enough.

For context, Tyrese Maxey was drafted 21st overall in 2020 which is just one spot earlier than Philon’s 22nd overall in 2026. In the 2020-21 season, Maxey’s rookie year, Maxey played 15 minutes per game and started eight games. That’s a considerable uptick from the amount of minutes Philon is currently playing. Additionally, under Nick Nurse in 2024-25, Jared McCain played 25.7 minutes per game as a rookie in an injury-shortened season that saw him still start eight games. Neither of these comparisons is perfect as McCain was nearly a lottery pick having been selected 15th overall in 2024 and Maxey would have probably been a lottery pick under non-COVID circumstances in…

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Publish date : 2026-11-04 19:17:00

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