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Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has been a running a triage unit in recent weeks thanks to a barrage of unforeseen injuries. He has been forced to throw his bench players and spare parts into meaningful roles. Guess what? The team has responded amazingly well.
Shake Milton has been carrying the scoring load during a two-game winning streak. The fifth-year guard scored a season-high 29 points against Orlando on Sunday, with De’Anthony Melton adding 11 points in a reconstructed starting backcourt.
Montrezl Harrell and Paul Reed have been splitting the starting center duties. The Sixers are down to just two original starters from what training camp: P.J. Tucker and Tobias Harris. Bad news has been on the doorstep, in terms of injuries, throughout the month of November. No Joel Embiid. No James Harden. No Tyrese Maxey.
Yet, miraculously, Rivers has kept the Sixers afloat with an impressive 11-9 record. They are tied for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference right now. Everyone has pitched in and played well.
“They all stayed ready. And that’s real important,” Rivers told reporters. “Because it’s hard when there’s three guys in front of you and you’re like, ‘How am I going to breakthrough with these guys in front of me?’ And yet they stayed ready, and I think that says a lot about them and it says a lot about our other coaches.”
Rivers credited his assistant coaches for keeping everyone on their toes. He said it’s been “fun to watch” his bench guys compete at practices where they hand out MVP awards during “low-minute scrimmages.” His bench rotation is going to be so much stronger down the stretch while causing him to make tough decisions on how to spread those minutes out.
“I don’t mind tough decisions. I’d rather have those than not,” Rivers said. “We knew that coming into the year. Our guys, all of them are not going to play, it’s just impossible. But we can play a lot of them and that’ll help us. You can put a second group on the floor and hopefully increase the lead or not lose the lead.”
Hawks Coach Nate McMillan Praises Shake Milton
One of the most pleasant surprises has been Shake Milton. He’s averaging 23.6 points per game since being thrust into a starting role on November 19, one night after Tyrese Maxey went down with a fractured left foot. Milton has seized the opportunity, which has caused opposing coaches to take notice.
“He’s a good player,” Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan said. “They brought him on board this year and he’s just solid. I think he plays both ends of the floor [well]. He’s a two-way guy that will defend as well as score. He’s been solid for them.”
Atlanta was preparing to see the Sixers for the third time in two weeks, which included a 42-point outing from Joel Embiid. The All-Star center was back in the Philly lineup on Monday night for the first time since November 19. Prior to tip-off, McMillan talked about prepping for multiple outcomes and making the proper adjustments.
“You have to adapt and adjust when main guys are out,” McMillan said. “We had an opportunity to look at video from last night’s game and see the guys that are in the rotation. They could have some guys coming back in [tonight], you have to make those adjustments over the course of the game, so it’s something that we constantly do really every game.”
Should Sixers Bench P.J. Tucker for Milton?
P.J. Tucker isn’t a high-volume scorer. He never has been that guy, and no one wants him to be that guy. Tucker is at his best when he’s doing the dirty work, like diving for loose balls and scrapping for rebounds. He’s an elite defender who can hover over to the baseline and knock down the occasional triple.
Rivers values the skillset that the 37-year-old forward brings to the floor. So, when a reporter suggested that the Sixers swap Milton for Tucker in the starting five once the team gets back to full health, Rivers went into attack mode. He has noticed some unfair criticism being aimed at Tucker.
“So, you want us to be really small and get dominated on the glass?,” Rivers asked the reporter. “Another thing I’m going to say about P.J., because I feel like P.J. has been the whipping boy – who do you think is the highest plus-minus guy on our team?”
The correct answer is Tucker. Rivers chalked up three recent wins – vs. Milwaukee, vs. Orlando, vs. Brooklyn – to the savvy veteran’s toughness.
“I think what we do is we look at points, it’s all we focus on,” Rivers said. “We don’t focus on like everything … this is not just an offensive game; you have to play both ends and there are roles that guys have to fit.”
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