LeBron James starts at center for the short-handed Sixers and hopes it does not become a habit

LeBron James started at center for the 76ers on Sunday against Detroit, the 15th start at the position in his 24 seasons and his first in five years, and afterward he made clear he does not expect to make a habit of it, ESPN's Kris Rhim reported. His previous 14 starts at center all came with the Lakers in 2021-22.

James, who is 6-foot-9 and turns 42 in December, spent much of the night matched up with Pistons big man Paul Reed and finished with 18 points, five assists and two rebounds in a 106-93 loss. "I'm not here to have a sustainable role at the 5," he said, pointing to Joel Embiid as the reason.

Embiid sat to manage plantar fasciitis in his right foot on the second night of a back-to-back. More on that decision.

Why it came to this

The Sixers came into the season short of size and have lost more of it since. Backup center Ariel Hukporti is out for the season after surgery on his right Achilles. Dominick Barlow has a back injury, Tacko Fall a strained quadriceps, and Jabari Walker hurt his left knee in Saturday's win over Milwaukee. Dean Wade, a forward who can play some center, missed the first two games with a sprained left ankle. Before Sunday's game, coach Nick Nurse put the number of players left who could play the position at about three, according to ESPN.

That left Adem Bona as the only true center on Sunday. He played a season-high 25 minutes and grabbed 13 rebounds, five of them offensive, and James singled out his energy afterward.

Nurse had already been using James at center in short small-ball stretches. On opening night at Madison Square Garden, James closed the first half guarding Karl-Anthony Towns after Embiid picked up his third foul, and the Sixers won 106-100.

The rebounding problem

The numbers show why the Sixers want their big men back. Opponents have outrebounded them in all four games: 53-45 by the Knicks, 46-44 by the Cavaliers, 62-40 by the Bucks and 54-37 by the Pistons. The Sixers are 3-1 anyway, in part because they have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in every game, but losing the boards by 22 to a Milwaukee team that was winless at the time is not a formula that lasts.

James' own workload is the other thread. He sat Saturday's game against the Bucks to manage low back pain and sciatica, the same condition that kept him out of the first 14 games of last season. Through three games he is averaging 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

What's next

As of Wednesday morning, ESPN's injury report for tonight's game at Indiana (7 p.m., ESPN) listed Walker, Fall, Barlow and Hukporti as out. Embiid and VJ Edgecombe, who missed Sunday with an abdominal contusion, were not listed. If Embiid plays, James can move back to forward. The Sixers then host the Knicks on Friday and play at Charlotte on Saturday, the next back-to-back. Tonight's game page and the schedule.