The Philadelphia 76ers are switching their rotations to have more success on the floor, and, so far, the move seems to be working.
The move coach Doc Rivers decided to move De’Anthony Melton into the starting lineup in place of Tyrese Maxey. The idea appears to be to have Maxey and Shake Milton anchor that second unit in order to have success on the offensive end of the floor.
They had that success in Thursday’s road win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Maxey had 15 points off the bench and Milton had 10 which led to 41 bench points in the win.
“I think our mindsets are similar,” Milton told reporters of Maxey. “We always push each other, too. That’s one of the things I appreciate about him and what he does. It makes me want to work harder and I’m sure it’s the other way around.”
When the Blazers were working their way back into the game on Thursday, Milton made some big shots on the offensive end to stem the tide. He had two big ones in the third quarter and another in the fourth in order to help the Sixers walk away with another win on this trip.
He and Maxey have the potential to team up and lead that second unit on the offensive end of the floor.
“Just seeing somebody great at basketball, doing their thing, and who inspires you to work harder and to be great yourself,” Milton added. “So just playing off one another and always encouraging each other to attack the defense.”
The Sixers will finish this five-game road trip on Saturday when they face the Sacramento Kings.
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