Sixers like going to Georges Niang in matchup with Bucks due to shooting
MILWAUKEE–The Philadelphia 76ers needed somebody to give them a boost on Saturday night in a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers needed somebody to space the floor and allow James Harden to do what he does out on the basketball court.
That somebody was Georges Niang. Despite being in a slump, the shooter hopped off the bench and he knocked down five triples, four coming in the decisive fourth quarter, in a 133-130 win over the Bucks.
Niang had been in a major slump. He had been shooting only 22.9% from deep in his previous 10 games and he didn’t play in the win over the Miami Heat to begin the trip, but they like going to him against the Bucks due to the fact that his shooting keeps Milwaukee honest. The Bucks are a team that likes to help on drivers, but they can’t do that if Niang is out there knocking down shots.
“Yeah and Jalen (McDaniels), too,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Jalen making that one 3 made them stay at home and then all of a sudden, now James is going down the middle of the paint and no help. That was good. We had good spacing and Georges needed to make a darn shot for him. He’s been struggling a couple of games. We just kept telling him ‘You’re a shooter. We’re not putting you out there for defense. Keep shooting the ball’ and he did that.”
There is a good chance that the Sixers and the Bucks will meet each other in the playoffs. That is when Niang will certainly be thrown into this matchup so the Bucks have to pay attention to him and not load up in the paint.
“When you’re playing against a team like that just load up a lot, you need guys with quick triggers and guys that are willing to shoot the ball,” Joel Embiid said of Niang’s importance. “He’s one of them. He had been cold for the past couple games and I’m happy for him to be able to come big for us and I think he had five. Those were huge, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Even with Niang being as cold as he was, the Sixers showed off their confidence in him and he was able to reward them with his shooting ability.
“I understand as being a professional for seven years that those happen,” said Niang. “You can’t ever get too high. You can’t ever get too low and just kind of stay even-keeled and just be ready to do your job every single day. Obviously, I wasn’t doing my job at a high level or to the best of my abilities but tonight was a good way to get back on track and you want to build off.”
