CAMDEN, N.J.–The bench unit for the Philadelphia 76ers has been a group that has had its ups and downs. There have been stretches where they have been terrific and then there have been other stretches where they haven’t been great out on the floor.
With that being said, there are still some solid players off the bench. The Sixers can rely on guys like Georges Niang, Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, and Montrezl Harrell. Eventually, De’Anthony Melton will rejoin that unit when Tyrese Maxey gets his legs underneath of him.
Coach Doc Rivers wants to grow the all-bench lineups and Niang is happy with the vote of confidence from the coach.
“That’s great,” he said. “Whenever a coach believes in your unit and what you’re doing and he thinks it’s having a positive outlook on the team, I think that’s great. I think we can’t get satisfied. We need to still keep building that and I think we’re gonna continue to do that, but whenever you can get a confidence boost from the coach, I think that’s huge.”
In Wednesday’s win over the Indiana Pacers, they received a big boost out of Harrell who had 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting and he had five rebounds and four blocks. That is the type of production the Sixers needed on a night when Joel Embiid was out due to left foot soreness.
“Trez is an elite roller, elite finisher, and he does a great job of giving us a spark in the second unit, especially with his energy,” Niang added. “He’s been tremendous for us this year.”
The Sixers have won 11 of their past 13 games and they will look to keep things rolling in the right direction. Both the starting and the bench units have been playing well together as they all move forward.
“We’re jelling at the right time,” Niang finished. “Guys are really playing unselfishly, we’re having each other’s back, the ball is moving. We’re doing the little things. I think we’re winning in the small margins. Whether that’s spacing just two more feet over to create space for someone else or feeling behind so that a guy has a passing outlet. I think we’re doing a real good job at devouring the details and mastering the little things right now.”
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