Doc Rivers concerned that injuries will mess with Sixers’ playoff rotations
The NBA playoffs begin May 22, and the Philadelphia 76ers have 12 games left before the postseason begins. That means they only have so much time to get everything down pat heading into the most important time of the season.
As they head into the final stretch of the season, the Sixers have been dealing with a slew of injuries. Their star duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are missing time. Embiid is dealing with right shoulder soreness, and Simmons has a non-COVID illness.
As a result, the Sixers are relying on other guys and putting them in new lineups and rotations. George Hill is a big example. Coach Doc Rivers would prefer Hill build chemistry with the players he will be in rotation with during the playoffs.
“We just got to get our guys and our rotations down, so we can play them and work on stuff,” said Rivers. “It’s really important for probably one guy and it’s George Hill so we can put them in his spot, instead of playing with guys he probably wouldn’t play with early and things like that so there’s a lot of little things.”
Hill has played four games with the Sixers, and in two of them he was a starter. He has yet to play with Simmons in the lineup. When Simmons returns, Hill will not play with the starting unit. Philadelphia needs their full complement of players to allow everyone to jell.
“We can’t make excuses,” said Hill, who had six points on 2-for-6 shooting on Saturday. “Even though this is like my third or fourth game here right now after sitting out three months of injury, I got to be better. I got to get in shape to be able to help this team no matter who’s on the floor. I can’t blame any guy. I can’t blame the coach. I’m gonna have to put that blame on myself to be ready to be better to be more assertive on both ends of the floor.”
The Sixers will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. They will look to end the four-game skid.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
