The Philadelphia 76ers had a lot go wrong on Saturday in a 125-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Outside of Tyrese Maxey, they didn’t have a lot go their way on the second night of a back-to-back without James Harden.
The biggest issue for the Sixers on Saturday was their bench unit. The bench unit for the Suns outscored Philadelphia’s bench 53-17 as the Sixers had their issues in the minutes when Joel Embiid was off the floor. The backup center position took the forefront of the issues on the floor as Paul Reed and Dewayne Dedmon had their struggles.
Reed played 6:18, all in the first half, and he was a minus-2 while having his issues on both ends. Coach Doc Rivers then went to the veteran Dedmon in the second half and his minutes weren’t great either as he was a minus-13 in 9:22.
However, the decision to go to Dedmon was a bit head-scratching. Reed had his struggles, but considering the style with which the Suns play, it would make more sense to go back to the more athletic Reed instead of Dedmon. The latter is 33 years old and he has dealt with injuries that can limit his mobility such as plantar fasciitis at the beginning of the season and then a hip issue with the Sixers.
“Just needed some life,” Rivers told reporters of his decision. “That first group in the first half gave us nothing. We have Dedmon here and we need to get him some minutes to see what he can give us.”
In Dedmon’s defense, it’s not like he’s a regular in the rotation and he hasn’t been able to get on the court too much. It could have been rust and in the future, he can be in a better position to help the team when his number is called.
However, after watching the minutes on Saturday, it is understandable to wonder just how much Dedmon has left in the tank.
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