PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had a wild weekend, overcoming both the Atlanta Hawks and the Utah Jazz thanks to the heroics of Joel Embiid. The big fella totaled 101 points in the two games, and he had big men on both teams shaking their heads after his performances.
Now, the Sixers are in the middle of a rare stretch during the 82-game season. They have four days off between Sunday’s matchup with the Jazz and Friday’s contest with the Milwaukee Bucks. That allows them to rest a bit.
Furkan Korkmaz missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury. De’Anthony Melton is dealing with a back issue. Embiid has been dealing with a variety of ailments. This time off allows everybody to heal a bit.
“Trying to get everyone back healthy,” said Tyrese Maxey. “Furk’s still out right now. Melt’s in and out of the lineup with his back. Jo can get some rest, Tobias (Harris), everybody. Some well-needed rest across the board. Try to get everybody back healthy and get ready for Milwaukee on Friday.”
The contest with the Bucks marks the beginning of another back-to-back. Maxey and the Sixers will take on the Bucks on Friday and host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
The four days off will also allow coach Doc Rivers to figure out the guard situation without James Harden.
“We were really looking forward to this stretch,” said Rivers. “If we can get two wins and then have some days of practice, we still have to really work on our guard core and figure out our rotation without James out there and who do we play, but this will be a good week for us.”
Time will tell if Philadelphia will be ready when the time comes on Friday, but having these days off will be a big help for team building.
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