PHILADELPHIA — One would assume the 76ers’ playoff rotation has been decided.
The team had its full complement of players available Wednesday night, and went with a telling 10-man rotation. Then Tobias Harris missed Friday’s 117-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors with a non-COVID illness. That led to sixth-man De’Anthony Melton starting in Harris’ place, and Shake Milton being added to the rotation.
Meanwhile, George Niang, Jalen McDaniels, Paul Reed, and Danuel House Jr. once again saw action off the bench.
That foursome and Melton will be the reserves included in the postseason rotation, at least early on, right?
Coach Doc Rivers said you can’t assume anything by who was in the rotation the past two games.
“We have plenty of time,” he said. “It may change in the playoffs, you know? There’s no rule that when you get into the playoffs with nine guys, you can’t change that, you know, so that’s always in flux.”
The Sixers can only hope that whoever plays can play through four quarters better than they did Friday night against the Raptors (38-39).
Philly’s 76.9% shooting in the first half was its best shooting performance for any half in franchise history. The Sixers, who shot 56.2% for the game, had a commanding 24-point lead before intermission. The Raptors pulled within two points (103-101) on Fred VanVleet’s 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 50 remaining.
James Harden’s performance was indicative of the Sixers’ night.
The 10-time All-Star had 23 points, 11 assists and three rebounds. If there was a blemish, it was his six turnovers. Seventeen of his points came in the first half when he was the hottest player on the floor, making 7 of 9 shots, including all three of his 3-pointers.
But after intermission, Harden cooled off a bit, scoring five points on 2-of-5 shooting, while missing all three of his 3s.
Joel Embiid finished with a team-high 25 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and one block. The MVP candidate did, however, have five turnovers. Tyrese Maxey (13 points), Melton (13 points), and Reed (11 points, six rebounds) were the Sixers’ other double-digit scores.
The Sixers (51-26) led, 34-17, in bench points.
In regards to stating he could change the rotation in the playoffs, Rivers said that’s because rotations always change in the playoffs.
“Based on two things,” Rivers said. “Based on matchups, and based on performance.”
No more Achilles problems?
While he had somewhat inconsistent halves, Harden looked nothing like a player who had been hampered with left Achilles soreness. And that could be a good thing for the Sixers, as they brace for the playoffs.
That’s because he wasn’t himself in the previous three games shooting a combined 10 for 43 (23.3%), including making just 2 of 18 3-pointers while dealing with the ailing Achilles. He scored 10.3 points in those games, way below his season average of 21.3 points.
Harden made just 4 of 15 shots on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on March 17. He missed the next night’s game at the Indiana Pacers. Then Harden made just 2 of 14 shots vs. Chicago on March 20 . He sat out the next four games, but the rest didn’t make major improvements in his shooting. Harden shot 4 for 14 in Wednesday’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks.
It’s obvious that Harden’s Achilles is still hampering him.
“I think it’s been managed, but it’s always a concern, honestly,” Rivers said. “You want him to be healthy. Those are things — calves and Achilles — those are things that pop up during the year and you just hope they go away. That’s why we’ve managed them so well over the past couple of weeks. Giving them rest, even during practice, not having them on the floor a lot. We’re doing everything we can.”
Embiid has been slowed by a right calf injury.
Rivers said he expects Harden to play over the final stretch of the season.
“Yeah, but that could change, honestly,” he said. “Right now, you look at our sheet, he’s clean as far as playing games, but we’ll see how this week and next week goes and we’ll go from there.”
Up next
The Sixers will travel to Milwaukee on Saturday for Sunday night’s game against the Bucks at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks (55-22) are in first place in the East, 4 1/2 games ahead of the Sixers with five games remaining. Philly has won this season’s last two meetings after dropping the second game of the season to the Bucks. A victory Sunday would enable the Sixers to clinch the season series.
