The Philadelphia 76ers are playing short-handed, derailing a promising start to the season. In addition to playing without Joel Embiid and Matisse Thybulle, who play big roles, the team is also missing Danny Green.
Green reaggravated his left hamstring in the loss to the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 13 that begin this six-game road trip. He has missed two games in a row. Before the Sixers came away with a huge win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, coach Doc Rivers explained what the team is missing with Green out.
“His size, smarts, calm, and just the veteran leadership on the floor,” said Rivers. “Getting guys in their sets. He’s one of the guys, the key to defense is talking. We are not a loud team; I would say that. Joel’s actually very loud. So we don’t have his voice. Matisse is loud. If you had to rank our four best talkers on defense, three of them are out. That’s where even in the Atlanta series, I thought we missed his voice on the floor. That’s where you miss him.”
While the Sixers are obviously missing the intangibles he brings to the floor, they are also missing his production from deep. Green is shooting 41.8% from deep, making him critical to what the Sixers want to do on the offensive end.
The main thing is, Rivers and the Sixers do not want to rush his return. Hamstrings are slow to heal, especially for a 34-year-old with some mileage on his legs. The team will wait.
“Especially at his age,” Rivers finished. “So we just have to be really careful.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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