At wrong time, reserves coming up second best

For most of what has been a satisfying season, there was only one thing that gave Doc Rivers more coaching satisfaction than the execution of his dangerous starting unit.

That would was the execution by his second team.

For weeks, it was something of a sports dream, a glimpse of basketball beauty, proof of a roster well-constructed. There was Dwight Howard as a foundation. There were multiple shooters hitting. There was a rhythm. There was not just an acceptance of roles, but an embracing of the kind of rotation that only the best NBA coaches can design.

“We have a trust in a system,” Tobias Harris said as the Sixers stepped to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. “The formula is there. We are sticking to a script.”

So confident was Rivers with his rotation that on nights when MVP candidate Joel Embiid needed to be load-managed, the coach would not plugand-play Howard with the starters, choosing to keep his backup unit intact and humming.

Because of injuries, sports science and testing issues, there wasn’t so much a permanent stuntdouble unit. But by sports standards, it was close. But then came what the NBA always provides: A test of faith, this time with a four-game western trip that would have been a problem for most teams in most years.

So far, so assumptioncrushing.

Two days after a loss in Portland, the Sixers Saturday were outperformed, 120-111, in Phoenix. The defense was leaky, allowing the Suns to shoot 60.8 percent. As it should have, that bothered Rivers. And for the second consecutive game, Rivers was so clear that the Sixers need more from their bench that it could be interpreted as a wail for the front office to send help.

“There were times down the stretch where we turned the ball over and didn’t make plays,” Rivers said afterward. “But I’m not concerned about our half-court offense.”

Then, there was a halfa-second of hesitation, a telling pause, a breathcatching opportunity for the head coach to expose an inner belief. “With our starters, anyway,” he continued. “Let me put it that way.”

The Sixers played their second consecutive game without Shake Milton, who is dealing with an ankle injury. Though young, he was a starter last postseason. As recently as 10 days ago, he was on the fringes of a Sixth Man of the Year candidacy. The absence of that kind of player adds stress to a backup unit.

Without Milton, some of the second-unit scoring falls to Tyrese Maxey, who scored 15 points in Portland. But no matter how much he will argue otherwise, Maxey is not a shooter. He’s a player. A driver. A sneaky defensive presence. Good around the hoop. OK in the midrange. But he’s a rookie, and it shows. Saturday, he played 10 minutes and scored six points.

“It’s more than Tyrese’s problem,” Rivers said before the game. “That second unit has had problems on and off all year. The bottom line is the ball has to move. That’s been one of the problems we’ve had with that unit. They’re all scorers. Tyrese is really a scorer. Tobias, who we used, scores. Shake is a scorer. Furkan (Korkmaz) is a scorer.

“We need someone to pass to each other. When they play well, they have artificial ball movement that leads to good ball movement. We have to get back to doing that.”

Since the Sixers were so productive, top to bottom, in roaring to the lead in the Eastern Conference, the roster can work as constructed in the regular season. But Howard, who supplied two points Saturday, has begun to show that he is 35 years old. Matisse Thybulle is a defensive power, unique and productive. But he can’t shoot. Maxey is inconsistent. Korkmaz is having his best year, but he only rang up a two-spot Saturday. Mike Scott can’t play.

The second unit didn’t cause the Sixers to lose Saturday. Team game. But in addition to reliable shooting, Danny Green has been a value for his refreshing, championshipsharpened bursts of veteran honesty. While he didn’t specifically call out the backups, his analysis did not require a basketball-to-English interpreter.

“I think these wakeup calls are much-needed,” he said. “We can’t think we are going to win a game because we are the 76ers and have the best record in the East. It’s not going to happen. We are going to take the other team’s best shot. We have to play for 48. We came out and showed some glimpses and what we could be.

“We came out with a good start, I thought. Then we let teams get back in it. We let them get hot. And the next thing you know, we’re playing from behind. So we’ve got to find a way to put on the gas and stay focused for the full 48.”

Until the stumble in Portland, the Sixers were 14-0 with their regular starting team available. They have dipped to 142. Looking close to their best, they jumped to a 2214 lead, winning the first quarter, 28-23 Saturday. But Phoenix scored 30 in the second, 33 in the third and 34 in the fourth.

Looking for any relief, Rivers started the fourth quarter with Scott, Maxey, Thybulle and Korkmaz, augmented by Embiid, a rare use of his best player as a second-team stabilizer. It was a rare, if not unprecedented look. It was also an indication of his frustration.

“The bottom line is that we have to do better,” Rivers said. “The bench hasn’t been bad. But they’ve been bad lately.”

For the Sixers to achieve what their first unit has the ability to deliver, the second group needs to be better. If not, it will need to be different. Pick one.

GMA Mount 10 7 10 18 11 8 20 -51 11 -47

GMA: Kaylie Griffin 7 7-9 24, Maddie Newell 3 0-2 7, Hannah Griffin 2 0-0 6, Sofia Coleman 4 4-4 12, Jenna Mangan 1 0-2 2. Totals: 17 11-17 51

MSJA: Grace Niekelski 7 1-3 18, Kiersten Pumilia 2 0-0 5, Lauren Hoffman 1 2-6 4, Chloe McGrorty 3 0-0 6, Georgia Pickett 6 0-0 12, Paige Metzler 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 3-9 47

3-pointers: G – K Griffin 3, H Griffin 2, Newell; M – Niekelski 3, Pumilia