Sixers’ strong start masks a growing need for help behind their stars

The Sixers have enough star power to make opponents nervous. The question is how much help those stars can expect over the course of a long season.

Tuesday’s 123-101 loss to the Celtics offered an uncomfortable comparison. Boston kept bringing productive players into the game. Philadelphia had considerably fewer answers.

As Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Sixers On SI details, the Sixers’ reserves are averaging a league-low 22.6 points. The Celtics rank fifth at 44.1, and their bench outscored Philadelphia’s 49-29 in Tuesday’s meeting.

Payton Pritchard supplied 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sam Hauser added 12 points, and Hugo Gonzalez scored 10. That’s a lot of assistance on a night when Paul George was already giving the Sixers problems.

Now, bench scoring doesn’t tell the entire story. Minutes, roles and which starters share the floor with the reserves all affect those totals. Dean Wade, for instance, can help without taking many shots. He delivered eight points and a team-high nine rebounds against Boston.

Still, Nick Nurse needs enough dependable options to avoid asking the same players to carry every difficult stretch.

Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe all rank among the NBA’s top 25 in minutes per game, per Kaskey-Blomain. Maxey and Brown are in the top 11. Meanwhile, Justin Edwards and Labaron Philon Jr. have been outside the regular rotation.

Giving those younger players minutes wouldn’t guarantee better results. But November offers an opportunity to find out whether they can help before the games become more consequential.

There’s also a roster question here. Anfernee Simons, Wade and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope provide different skills, but Philadelphia’s frontcourt depth leaves little margin behind Joel Embiid.

With Embiid trying to regain his shooting touch and LeBron James approaching 42, the Sixers have good reason to develop more options.

A 9-3 start gives Nurse room to experiment. It would be useful to learn who else he can trust before he has no choice.