The Philadelphia 76ers were once again relying on unproven rookies in order to get some wins right now due to the lack of players they have at the moment. On Tuesday, they had to take on the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat while still missing the likes of Seth Curry, Tobias Harris, and others.
Coach Doc Rivers has had to turn to a second-round pick in Isaiah Joe as well as the undrafted Dakota Mathias in order to try and get some wins and on Tuesday, they stepped up big time.
Joe drilled a clutch triple late to bring Philadelphia within two to set up Joel Embiid’s bucket to force overtime and then Mathias made his only shot of the night in overtime. With the Sixers down by one, he knocked down a huge triple to give the Sixers the lead for good.
“They’ve been great,” said Embiid. “They’re learning on the fly. All of them have been great, especially with the guys that we haven’t been able to have the past couple of games. Isaiah made a big 3, then in overtime, Dakota made a huge one. Tyrese (Maxey) has been great, especially if we’re not gonna have the other teammates for I don’t know how long, they need to keep showing up every single day to help us get these wins.”
For Rivers, it is satisfying to see the young players on the team be able to step up and knock down big shots. Especially with the team still so shorthanded and trying to get wins right now.
“It was awesome,” said Rivers with a smile. “The fact that Dakota hadn’t made a shot, they swung out to him, and with no hesitation, takes that shot says a lot about him. Joe, I’ll tell you, like I’ve said it before, he’s a scorer. If you leave him open, he will make the shot, he will take the shot. He has great confidence, and both of them were big for us.”
The Sixers will most likely have to count on the rookies again as they get set to take on the Heat in Round 2 on Thursday.
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