Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Unselfishly, Sixers have scoring to make long postseason run
PHILADELPHIA » Spend enough money, wait enough years, make enough trades and be a little lucky in the draft, and it’s possible for an NBA team to build a roster deep in All-Star talent. That’s the first trick. The second is to do what Doc Rivers did in the first two games of the Sixers’ opening-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors: Make sure it functions.
Though the tournament has barely begun, the Sixers have enjoyed two double-figure victories for one reason above the rest: The plentiful shooters in their starting lineup have been willing to share the ball, the scoring responsibility and the boxscore glory.
“That’s a function of continuity a little bit,” Rivers said. “Toronto makes you move the ball. They’re an excellent defensive team. They’re going to run around and trap. They’re going to try and muck the game up. And if you’re not willing to move the ball and play with each other, they’re going to be effective.”
In a 112-97 Game 2 victory, all five Sixers starters scored in double figures, with three — Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey — shooting at least 56 percent from the field. In the 131-111 Game 1 success, four starters hit double figures, with Shake Milton adding another 10 as a reserve.
Though Embiid led the NBA in scoring, he was the leading scorer for the Sixers only in Game 2, when he scored 31. In Game 1, he was fourth with 19, while unselfishly and successfully passing out of the expected Toronto double-andtriple teams.
Who will lead the Sixers in scoring in Game 3,
Wednesday night in Toronto? Pick one. “We can’t worry about who it is,” Rivers said. “We just have to spray the ball out. And I think we’re doing that.”
Balanced scoring is not a revolutionary concept. But Embiid and James Harden have combined to win three of the last four NBA scoring titles. Since both enjoy the status of being a leading scorer, it was Rivers’ job to make sure they complemented — not competed against — one another. While Rivers has encouraged Harden to be more aggressive at the offensive end, the three-time scoring champion has understood that he is surrounded by enough shooters that he doesn’t have to force offense in order to win the one thing his resume lacks: A championship.
“I am just trying to make the right plays, man,” Harden said. “When you’ve got a guys like Tyrese and he has it going, you have to make sure he gets shots.”
Not that the combination of Maxey and Seth Curry in the backcourt wasn’t entertaining and productive, but Harden has proven to be the ideal point guard to maximize Maxey’s skills. In the two games, Maxey has accumulated 61 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, joining only Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady and Magic Johnson in being that productive in two consecutive postseason games before turning 21.
“You’ve got two guards, so you’ve got to make a decision,” Maxey said. “Do you want to switch? Most of the time they don’t want to get off James’ body and give him any space. If they don’t, I’m getting downhill. If they switch, then he has a matchup or I have a matchup. We just try to get downhill and make plays for ourselves and make plays for others as well.”
Among the Sixers’ surprises through two games is the revival of Danny Green, who joined the starting lineup late in the season when a Sixers-Raptors firstround
series loomed likely. With Matisse Thybulle ineligible because of Canadian COVID vaccination requirements, Rivers sought lineup continuity. Able to spring loose as the Raptors concentrated on Embiid and others, Green hit three three-pointers Monday and scored 11 points.
All season, Rivers has promised that his lineups would change from time to time, and that he was undecided about his postseason rotation. But Green, three times an NBA champion, has resurfaced as a pesky fifth starting option. Scorers Milton and Georges Niang can help from the bench, as can the defenseminded Thybulle. Backup center Paul Reed has been in the nine-man rotation.
The Sixers are hoping for a long postseason. The way the starters pass to each other without ego issues suggests it is possible.
“If you’re willing to do that,” Rivers said, “then you are going to get good shots.”
And good shots to win.