James Ennis’ injury has major implications for Sixers as the playoffs loom
Losing a reserve wing who has only played 18 games with his team might not seem like a big deal from the outside, but it’s huge for the Sixers.
Shortly before the 76ers’ 128-122 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, the team announced that James Ennis will be out for two weeks with a quad contusion before being re-evaluated. Losing a reserve wing who has only played 18 games with his team might not seem like a big deal from the outside, but it’s huge for the Sixers.
If Ennis remains out for just two weeks, that means he will miss the first three or four games of the playoffs at minimum, and that’s if two weeks is enough time to recover.
The good news is that the quad contusion that has sidelined Ennis is not major, there’s no internal damage, and he should be able to return. The bad news ... where do we start?
First, the injury itself occurred during the Sixers’ game in Atlanta, sending Ennis straight to the locker room, and is a re-aggravation of an already existing injury that had hampered Ennis before. That could make his recovery time longer, stretching farther into the playoffs.
What does this mean for the team?
“It has been the area that, I’ve admitted, I’m most afraid of," Brown said of the health of his team. “When you lose a wing especially, it’s a sting.”
The Sixers were finally in a position of feeling comfortable with their wing rotation heading into the postseason, but the roster now is like a teetering Jenga set. Any one missing piece or errant bump could topple everything.
Clearly, if the Sixers are missing one of their top players, like Joel Embiid, they don’t have the defensive prowess or the offensive fire in order to make a deep run. Possibly not as clear, though, is how losing Ennis could impact things.
The minutes left on the table in Ennis’ absence have to be filled somehow. No one is being asked to make up for 30 minutes a game, but somehow the Sixers are going to have to fill in 10-12 minutes worth of playing time and hope that whatever lineup is on the floor can weather the storm.
Considering that the storm is going to be made up of playoff-ready teams desperate to exploit any weakness they can find, it’s not a small task.
What are the Sixers’ options?
The Sixers have four options to fill in the gaps: bring Shake Milton on board, go with Zhaire Smith, tinker with position rotation give more power-forward minutes to Jonah Bolden, or re-engage with Jonathon Simmons.
Just last week, Brown said he doesn’t see Milton or Smith -- both rookies -- as players who would get any time on the court during the playoffs. But Thursday night, that may have changed.
With Jimmy Butler absent for the second time in the last three games and Ennis sidelined, Milton was the first option off the bench. In the Sixers’ final regular-season game against an elite Easten Conference team, less than a week before the playoffs start, Brown turned to a two-way contract rookie for big minutes.
Milton will only be eligible for the playoffs if the Sixers let go of someone else on the roster and convert Milton’s contract to a full NBA deal. With so many players that aren’t contributing (Amir Johnson, Furkan Korkmaz, Greg Monroe) the Sixers have the ability to make room for Milton.
Though Smith has only played in three NBA games and was a non-option for the playoffs before Thursday, it seems like Brown might be forced to consider giving the 2018 No. 16 draft pick some serious postseason play considering the circumstances.
“Zhaire, for not playing much basketball, actually did some nice things on the court,” Brown said. “So can you continue to give him minutes and see maybe what do we have in him?”
Both Milton and Smith have all the flaws and present concerns that any other green player would. There is absolute potential and moments that are great, but they are inexperienced and raw. Whether or not they are ready might or might not matter come April 13.
Brown also mentioned moving Tobias Harris over to a wing position and playing Bolden at the four in order to fill in some of the open minutes. This is probably the move the Sixers are most comfortable with because it means not having to introduce another new player to the rotation, but not every matchup will be complimentary to this kind of lineup and Bolden would definitely be targeted. Let’s not forget that Bolden, too, is a rookie and has the same hot and cold drawbacks as Smith and Milton.
The other option is reintroducing Simmons to the lineup. Though, if this was an option that Brown was considering, you would think he would have gone in that direction on Thursday against the Bucks when the Sixers were without two wing players. Though Simmons is technically an option, his chances do not look good.
Moving forward
No matter what choice the Sixers make and who they decide is the most reliable option, this is going to impact their postseason journey. The team is already going into the playoffs uncertain, and this won’t make things any easier.
“It is a hit, it’s true,” Brown said.
This situation also makes it clear just how delicate things are. Brown is afraid of injuries for good reason. One more blow and this team might not be able to make up for it.