NEW YORK — When one looks at the stat sheet of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 108-97 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday, a few big numbers stand out.
The plus-minus numbers for the bench players compared to the starters is stark. The starting group built a 21-point lead in the first quarter to give the Sixers the momentum to start the game. The bench unit was not able to sustain that style of play. The Knicks rallied and won.
Coach Doc Rivers did not solely blame the bench unit as the starters definitely played a hand in the loss in the fourth quarter, but he was upset with their poor defensive effort in this one.
“We couldn’t get stops,” said Tyrese Maxey who had 12 points off the bench. “We couldn’t score and we couldn’t get stops.”
In terms of the lack of physicality, Maxey admitted that may have been the case.
“That’s probably true,” he added. “Probably wasn’t physical enough, probably didn’t get into the ball, didn’t rotate sometimes.”
This effort comes on the heels of a terrific bench effort in Friday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs. Off nights do happen in the NBA over the course of a 82-game season. Maxey is not exactly worried or concerned about the bench struggles in this one.
“I mean, we’ve been pretty good,” he explained. “I mean, we had one slip-up, so we just gotta go out there and be better next game.”
Maxey has always proved a guy who can shake things off rather quickly. He and the rest of the bench unit will have to do so again with a matchup with the Boston Celtics looming.
“We got a game,” Maxey finished. “We play the No. 1 team in the East in a couple of days. So we better shake it off fast.”
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