Sixers’ Doc Rivers plans to keep rotation short, play stars big minutes vs. Celtics
BOSTON James Harden played his most ever in a Sixers uniform on Sunday.
For good reason, the Sixers leaned on Harden for 47 minutes and 24 seconds in their Round 2, Game 4 overtime win over the Celtics. He delivered 42 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and four steals.
It wasnt quite Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, when Harden went the full 53 minutes of the Nets overtime loss to the Bucks on a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Still, it was a serious load for a 33-year-old point guard who missed time in late March with left Achilles soreness. Joel Embiid also played 46 minutes with a brace on his sprained right knee. Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris each got 45 minutes, too, and the Sixers trimmed their rotation to eight players.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers did not detail the reasoning behind Jalen McDaniels DNP on Monday other than to say, I just shortened the rotation.
While Rivers acknowledged that fatigue impacted his team late in Game 4, he didnt sound inclined to expand his rotation again with the series even at 2-all.
No, he said. No, but if we need to, were ready to do that. Like if somebody got in foul trouble or if one of the guys that were playing wasnt playing efficiently enough, were ready to pull the trigger for the other guys.
We have a team, and theres going to be nights when you play six guys. Theres going to be nights where you may need nine and everybody has to be ready to play.
In March, Rivers noted the Sixers have aimed to prioritize their key pieces being capable of playing high-quality postseason minutes ideally, a lot of them.
We map out the whole season, for the most part. … (Teams) have different philosophies, he said. We believe we ramp up now, not down. We ramp up now because we want to build up minutes. We want our guys our main guys to be able to play 38, 40 good minutes instead of 35 good minutes and five tired minutes.
Sixers vice president of athlete care Simon Rice has coordinated those various ramp-up plans.
It was our first time playing that many minutes that hard, Rivers said Monday. Theres a difference between playing 40 minutes in the regular season and 40 minutes in the playoffs and thats why Simon all year hes been (talking about) revving guys up in minutes.
I think that came to our aid last night because late in the year, we were ramping guys up, running them more in shootarounds, thinking, Were going to have to play heavy minutes. So I think thats what paid dividends last night in some ways. But we did get fatigued, and I thought we got stagnant for a six-, seven-minute stretch, and it allowed them to catch up and take the lead.
Sixth man DeAnthony Melton, stretch four Georges Niang, and backup center Paul Reed were the Sixers three players off the bench Sunday. Wings Danuel House Jr. and McDaniels are other options for Rivers, along with combo guard Shake Milton.
Regardless of how Rivers handles his rotation in Tuesday nights Game 5 at TD Garden, theres no question hell continue to prefer his stars playing a bunch.
He was asked whether Embiids postgame comments that he was gassed in the fourth quarter and lacked lift meant the team needed to monitor the MVP.
No, were going to play him 44, Rivers said with a laugh.
Given every game at this stage could be classified as crucial, Rivers doesnt appear especially deterred by the notion of big minutes for his best players.
Unfortunately for him, its the cost of doing business when youre not healthy, he said of Embiid. So I think well monitor that part, obviously. If we think he cant perform because of that, well make a change.
But listen, (the Celtics) played seven and a half. We played six and a half guys. I think thats where were at right now.
