Doc Rivers discusses bench struggles in Sixers’ road loss to Pistons
DETROIT–The Philadelphia 76ers had themselves a tough night overall as they fell to the team with the second to worst record in the East in the Detroit Pistons on the road 102-94. Joel Embiid had himself a big night scoring 37 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, but the bench unit couldn’t help.
It was a tough night for the second group as they only scored eight points on 3-for-12 shooting. They did not register a point until Shake Milton drilled a triple late in the third quarter and it contributed to a loss.
In their defense, the bench unit was out there with James Harden and The Beard was taking on more of the offensive load with his shots–as he should.
“They didn’t struggle, they didn’t get a lot of shots in their defense,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I think during that stretch, it was more James than them. It was just a tough night.”
In no way was Rivers blaming Harden for Philadelphia’s bench unit struggling. What he was saying is, the bench didn’t get an opportunity to get in a rhythm because the offense is focused on Harden at that point, and it should be.
The Sixers want Harden to be taking more shots on the floor and get more aggressive and he did so on Thursday in a unit that was tailored to him being the focal point. He just struggled shooting 4-for-15 on the night. It happens.
Even Embiid had his struggles in the fourth quarter that contributed to the loss.
“I always like to put it on myself,” said Embiid. “I should have been better. I had a bunch of turnovers off those doubles. I gotta do a better job, but my teammates, I’m sure they want to be better too. Ultimately, it’s on me to get better and have a better performance next time.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
