Doc Rivers not concerned by Sixers’ struggles with Joel Embiid on the bench
PHILADELPHIA–As the Philadelphia 76ers continue to move forward with their championship plans, they have to figure out how they can sustain success with Joel Embiid on the bench. Per PBP Stats, with Embiid on the floor, the Sixers are plus-8.9 with him on the floor and they’re a minus-3.06 when he’s off the floor.
Going even further, the Sixers have a defensive rating of 110.3 when he’s on the floor and it’s 117.0 when he’s off. The bench unit continues to have its issues and even when there are some starters with that unit, they just can’t sustain success without the big fella.
In a recent loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday, the Sixers were a minus-11 in the eight minutes he was off the floor in a three-point loss. The bench unit in that one was badly outplayed and it cost them, but with that being said, coach Doc Rivers is not worried about the struggles with Embiid off the floor.
“I’m gonna guarantee you every night we’re not gonna be perfect off the bench,” said Rivers. “Again, we’re not gonna overreact to a night. My guess is if you took most of the best players on every team and took them off the floor, the plus-minus would probably be a little different so we don’t look at it.”
To Rivers’ point, yes. Every team will struggle with their best player off the floor, but the Sixers should not be as bad without him considering they also have James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris on the roster to help the bench unit.
Rivers adds that he will keep a deeper rotation as Philadelphia works through the final 22 games of the season before the playoffs.
“In the regular season, we’ll keep a deep rotation as much as we can,” Rivers explained. “In the playoffs, obviously, it will be less of a rotation so we’re not that concerned by it.”
