Getty Sixers guards Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry are fighting injuries and a brutal schedule to start the year.
It’s been a grueling stretch to start the year for the Philadelphia 76ers. Coming off a 103-96 short-handed loss, the team gets right back to work against the Milwaukee Bucks for their second back-to-back in five days. No rest for the weary as Doc Rivers appealed to an unlikely source for help.
The Sixers head coach joked that President Joe Biden might get the Bucks drunk during their celebratory trip to the White House. The reigning champions were feted on the South Lawn on Monday, November 8 – the first NBA team to make the trip since 2016 – and enjoyed a private tour of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Maybe the joyous occasion would lead to a few too many adult beverages with the Commander-in-Chief.
“Hopefully President Biden gets the Bucks to drink at the White House today as much as he can,” Rivers told reporters. “But they’re going to be in fresh, think about it, they have a day off and we play them tomorrow.”
Jokes aside, the Sixers will be playing their sixth game in nine days and doing it with an overworked roster. Four players – Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, Isaiah Joe, Matisse Thybulle – are out due to COVID-19 protocols. And Danny Green just returned from a three-game hiatus after logging 30 minutes on an injured hamstring.
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Closing the Gap, Running Out of Gas
The Sixers made it close against a very physical New York Knicks team, but couldn’t quite close the gap despite fighting back from 19 points down. Georges Niang drilled a 25-footer to pull them within a point at 89-88 with 5:01 left. That was it. Julius Randle (31 points) made contested shot after contested shot in the clutch. The Sixers just ran out of gas.
“I actually thought we ran out of gas several times,” Rivers said. “It was funny, in the first half I thought we got unbelievable open shots. You could just see the heavy legs. What is this, our fifth game in eight nights? Tomorrow will be our sixth game in nine nights. Shorthanded, so it is what it is. I love the effort.”
RJ Barrett was too happy to see Julius Randle score 😅
Green was forced to guard Randle for long stretches as the Sixers basically used a seven-man rotation. He played extremely well on the defensive end and finished with a team-high three blocks. The problem was just a lack of fresh bodies. The starting five – Tyrese Maxey, Furkan Korkmaz, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, Danny Green – averaged 37.6 minutes.
This was a really awesome play generated by Paul Reed’s hustle and playmaking.
And the Sixers’ bench consisted of three guys: Paul Reed saw a frenzied five minutes, with Georges Niang (15 points, 25 minutes) and Shake Milton (10 points, 22 minutes) rounding out the second unit. Rivers has to find a way to better spread out the minutes even with a depleted dance card. He promised to play 10 guys against Milwaukee.
“I thought Danny was great. I’m just asking – that was too much tonight, from all of them,” Rivers said. “You know it’s funny as a coach the first thing you do after the game is look at the minutes and say, ‘Damn I wish I would have played him less, all of them.’ Obviously you couldn’t tonight. But tomorrow we’re going to play 10 guys. I don’t know who that 10 is but 10 guys have to play tomorrow.”
Andre Drummond Grabs 25 Rebounds
With Joel Embiid in the COVID-19 protocol for the next 10 days, it’s up to Andre Drummond to shoulder the load. The two-time All-Star has been a starter in each previous stop so it shouldn’t be an issue. Drummond saw 38 minutes versus New York and grabbed 25 rebounds while scoring 14 points. He was an absolute monster on the glass (eight offensive, 17 defensive). Nobody could outhustle him in the paint.
“It’s more so just something I pride myself in,” Drummond said of rebounding. “I came to the NBA and it’s something I wanted to be the best at, and I strive for that. And I am the best at it, so it’s nothing new that I haven’t done in my previous years.”
.@sixers with 25 total rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass, per @Stathead.
@AndreDrummond – tonight
Charles Barkley – 3/24/87
Charles Barkley – 3/20/87
Moses Malone – 3/25/84
George McGinnis – 2/4/77
Leroy Ellis – 10/24/73
The Sixers signed Drummond to be Embiid’s backup, but he’s averaged 30.6 minutes per game for his career. He can handle whatever role the team needs to throw at him.
“I love the role that I’m in now,” Drummond said. “These nights are going to come where I have the opportunity to play like that. Other than that, I’m just here to win. Everybody knows what I can put up numbers-wise. I’m here to win.”
here are all 2️⃣5️⃣ of @AndreDrummond‘s rebounds from tonight.