PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are 39-19 with 24 games to go before the playoffs begin in April. They have some tough matchups coming up and two back-to-backs to begin March.
Therefore, coach Doc Rivers wants to stretch the rotation to end the regular season. He wants to ensure Joel Embiid and James Harden get the rest they need before they have to go full throttle in the postseason.
On Thursday, Paul Reed played six minutes because Rivers wanted to use more PJ Tucker at center. The game forced Rivers’ hand, though, and he wasn’t able to expand the rotation as much as he would have liked.
“We gotta play more guys right now,” said Rivers after a win over the Memphis Grizzlies. “We got a lot of games coming up. We want to actually stretch the rotation more than diminish it, but the game dictated what we did so we did it.”
De’Anthony Melton only played 13:27 and had an off night against his former team. As far as his minutes are concerned, he has been dealing with injuries and Rivers hinted at fewer minutes for him in certain games to allow him to rest.
Considering a tough night combined with the injuries, Rivers wanted to ensure he got the necessary rest.
“We thought the other guys were playing well,” he said when addressing Melton’s minutes. “Sometimes, when you’re playing against your former team, you can go one way or the other. It was going the other so we just went the other direction.”
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