CAMDEN, N.J. — Led by Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Philadelphia 76ers feature one of the top starting lineups in the league. The two stars are joined by Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris.
The bench unit, on the other hand, has been inconsistent. There are stretches in which they look brilliant and other stretches in which coach Doc Rivers can’t play them much.
Montrezl Harrell, who has been playing the backup center role recently, has been a solid source of offense for the second unit and he has been very good as a roller. He and Shake Milton have been running the pick-and-roll with that bench group, and they have been developing chemistry.
“He’s a player that comes in ready to work,” Harrell said of Milton. “No matter what his time is, no matter how many minutes that he’s playing, he’s a guy who will come in and get his work in. He’s a pro.”
As far as the bench unit is concerned, the players are still trying to find their way. The focus remains the same: Give the team a boost when called upon.
“We come in, we try to make sure that there’s no drop-offs from the first unit and what they’re doing,” said Harrell. “We’re going in and if the energy isn’t right, we try to pick up the energy just try to get it right and win the basketball game. We’re not doing nothing special. We’re doing what’s asked of us and doing it to the best of our ability.”
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=]
[listicle id=73183]
[lawrence-related id=73238,73180,73203]