It’s no secret that as the NBA playoffs begin, the Philadelphia 76ers face a truckload of pressure. Few will pick them to beat the Boston Celtics in the second round, but they have to at least get there first. Losing to the Brooklyn Nets would be an absolute disaster. In order to make short work of the Nets and create a stress-free on-ramp toward a likely meeting with the Celtics, a few things need to happen for the Sixers.
One is to get solid minutes from their bench so that they can survive the minutes when Joel Embiid is resting. Philadelphia simply cannot crater when Embiid is off the floor. The 76ers have to manage those minutes and not get destroyed.
One obvious part of a winning bench formula for the Sixers is the defensive energy of former USC Trojan De’Anthony Melton.
Sixers Wire had more on the Philadelphia bench:
“Coach Doc Rivers has turned to lineups featuring De’Anthony Melton, Jalen McDaniels, Danuel House Jr. and Paul Reed because those players have the athleticism to fly around and be successful on both ends of the floor.”
Melton spoke about this topic himself:
“Adding athleticism allows us to fly around, get more deflections, rebound, and get out in transition,” Melton added. “It’s a different style of play compared to what the starters bring and stuff like that. Adding those two guys (McDaniels and Reed) to the lineup in the second unit is important for us. Even defensively. I think that’s the most important thing for us guarding 1 through 5 and getting out and running.”
Follow Sixers Wire for full coverage of Melton and his 76ers in the playoffs.
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