The Philadelphia 76ers are set to begin a 4-game road trip on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings and they are getting good play out of their starting unit as they are 13-0 when they play a healthy game. However, to be a truly great team, they have to get help from the bench unit as well.
On most nights, they have stepped up and done a terrific job. They are getting a lot of help from the likes of Shake Milton who is averaging 14.1 points off the bench and they are also getting help from guys such as Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, and Dwight Howard.
All season long, the Sixers have shown off their depth in big moments.
“It’s just been an ebb and flow,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I think what we don’t realize is every time we have a starter out, that takes another guy off the second unit, and you don’t have your second unit on the floor either. We have faced that problem quite a bit so that’s our next step. Though that second unit, they’re making strides. They’re not where I want them to be yet, but you can clearly see it coming. This trip will tell us a lot.”
While they have been very good in some games, some could say that the unit as a whole could give more out on the floor, at least if one asks a very important member of that second unit.
“I think as a second unit, we have a lot of potential right now,” said Korkmaz. “I feel like we can do more, we can give more to this team. We are trying to find that rhythm, we got to know each other more, we got to spend time more on the court off the court, I think that will be really helpful for us.”
It is important that the second unit also pushes the starters in practice. There are plenty of times when the starting unit faces the bench unit, obviously, in practice. It is on that next unit to push the starters.
“I think our progress has been great,” added Howard. “We really work extremely hard every day to really help the first unit out. We want those guys to see the best defense and they will see from any team against the second unit so that way, that when they get in the game, they’ll be able to just play because they’ve seen the best defense they know.”
The Sixers have the chance to win a title right now and in order to do that, they will need the entire team. Not just the starting unit that has begun the season 13-0 when they are all healthy.
“I know the potential,” Korkmaz added. “I can see that potential. I’m seeing that every day. That’s why I cannot say we play great as a second unit, but we have more to give.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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