Virus, injuries force Rivers to switch his starting protocols

For weeks, Doc Rivers had been promising that the Sixers eventually would be using some unlikely lineups.

For a 118-109 loss Tuesday to the Milwaukee Bucks, circumstances forced him to try a starting unit including just one regular starter, Tyrese Maxey.

With Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris missing due to COVID-19 health protocols and Seth Curry a late scratch with a left foot contusion, Rivers also chose to sidetrack Danny Green to the bench. That nudged him into starting Maxey with Furkan Korkmaz, Paul Reed, Andre Drummond and Shake Milton.

“I’ve said it all year,” Rivers said, before the game. “This is not a group we are afraid to do things with, and we do it in practice every day. Obviously, some of the lineups we will use, I haven’t used. And some of the lineups tonight were some that we never fathomed that we would use. But we will and we’re not going to worry about it.”

Recently recovered from a hamstring injury, Green returned for a Monday night loss to the Knicks, but sputtered offensively, shooting 2-for-8 from distance and scoring eight points. On Tuesday, he was 3-for-9.

Ordinarily, Rivers may have promoted Matisse Thybulle to a starting spot, but he, too, is unavailable under health protocols. That left the Sixers with their sixth different starting lineup of the regular season.

“You just tell them to play within their means and play within their role,” Rivers said. “That’s when guys play their best, when they figure out their role.”

Maxey played 39 minutes and scored 31 points, including 17 in the first quarter. Reed battled, twice blocking Giannis Antetokounmpo shots. Drummond, who had 25 rebounds a night earlier in a loss to New York, snared another 20 against the Bucks. They wereplaying without Kris Middleton (health protocols, of course).

Also, Brook Lopez has played just one game this season due to a lingering back issue.

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With Embiid, Harris, Thybulle and Isaiah Joe out for medical reasons, and with Rivers sharing that both Harris and Embiid had struggled with sickness, the Sixers could be facing a long-term issue. Some individuals, including Seth Curry last year, have taken longer to recover from coronavirus than others.

For now, Rivers will table his panic.

“I’m not going to worry about it, but I’m aware of it,” he said. “I can’t worry about something that I don’t know is going to happen, but we have our eyes open for sure. I thought Seth took a month to recover last year. This summer, Jayson Tatum told me it took him a good six weeks to feel even close to normal after he was back. It just really depends on how it hits each guy. It’s such an individual disease, it seems like.”

Embiid missed his second consecutive game Tuesday, Joe his fourth, Thybulle his second. By rule, infected players must remain unavailable for a minimum of 10 days. Even then, the Sixers will practice vigilance.

“Clearly,” Rivers said, “we have to have our eyes open with the effects.”

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Over the five games, Maxey has provided 28 assists and two turnovers as Simmons’ point guard replacement. He did not turn the ball over Tuesday.

“My teammates are trusting me,” Maxey said. “They are talking to me, and that has really helped out a lot. They stuck with me and showed that they believe in me. So when those guys totally believe in you, you just go out and play the game and do whatever it takes to win.”

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Harris, who has been out since Nov. 1, is close to a return.

“Tobias is doing a lot better,” Rivers said. “I know that. Other than that, the other guys are still where they’re at. Just talking to Tobias, he’s the one guy that I’d say would be back sooner rather than later.”

The Sixers will entertain Toronto Thursday at 7, and Rivers implied that Harris could resurface during an upcoming six-game road trip, slipping in Utah (Nov. 16) and Denver (Nov. 18) as possibilities.

“Tobias should be the first one out, right?” the coach said. “We play in Utah and Denver. That can’t be healthy. That’s not even healthy for me. It is what it is and we’ll see how it goes.”

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Not that Rivers was implying anything about any player who may or may not have dressed this season for the Sixers, but he did praise Antetokounmpo for the way he kept trying to go to the foul line in the last postseason despite his struggle to shoot free throws.

Not coincidentally, it helped the Bucks win the world championship.

“I don’t like gushing over another guy, but what he did last year was amazing,” Rivers said. “He was defiant, almost. That’s what I liked about him. He’s just defiant. He was like, ‘I know I am not making free throws, but I’m going to keep driving, I’m going to keep attacking, and I am going to step up to the free throw line, and I am going to make them.’”

Ben Simmons missed his 11th consecutive game Tuesday as he tried to become mentally prepared to play.