By T.A. January 30, 2023
Doc Rivers clearly seems to be making some good decisions with the 76ers this season. The impact of Rivers cannot be overlooked as the 76ers are currently taking the spot of the two seed in the Eastern Conference presently.
The basic problem so far with the sixers as a team is their injury situation. Although, in many ways, the injuries that occurred by players of the 76ers have proven to be a blessing in disguise.
One of many scenarios is the implementation of De’Anthony Melton over Tyrese Maxey as the starter for the 76ers.
De’Anthony Melton was the best trade decision the 76ers made in June. The 6 ft point guard impact increased on the side of the 76ers the moment Tyrese Maxey encountered an injury against the 76ers matchup with The Lakers.
Melton seems to be a more suitable player to complement the Embiid and Harden duo. Doc Rivers on Maxey’s return decided to start Melton before Tyrese Maxey.
“Although this may not be entirely the Case…..We told our team that there are three different lineups that we’ll be using from this point on,” Doc Rivers said. “We were going to do it in the Utah game, but Tobias [Harris] was out. They know the lineups. I’m not going to share them, but there are three different lineups we’ll use on different nights… Some nights, it will be to match up to [opponents]. Some nights, it’ll be to make them match up to us.”
Tyrese will obviously be starting in one or two lineups out of the three lineups…… Can Philadelphia keep up with three lineups for the rest of the season? I frankly believe they Can’t! The Sixers will always have an excuse for disregarding Doc’s proposed 3 lineups format. It is hard to work with just three lineups with the injury prone nature of a team like Philly. The 76ers are so hyped lately. They even perform well when playing without James Harden and Joel Embiid, an example of that is the last match-up between the 76ers and the Kings.
In cases where the availability of Joel Embiid and James Harden is compromised. Tyrese Maxey is the one knocking on the opponent’s door.
The first starting lineup will have Joel Embiid, James Harden, PJ Tucker, Melton, and Tobias Haris.
The lineups will be basically the manipulation of both Maxey and Melton in the starting lineup.
The only slight advantage Melton has against Tyrese is his flexibility to adapt to both attacking in the paint and playing good defense.
Tyrese is quite a better scorer but not a better defender.
We shouldn’t forget important bench players that play a huge role for the 76ers like Matisse Thybulle. It may be just a suggestion, but it will be great if the Sixers can acquire Andre Drummond back before the trade deadline. The 76ers will have a stronger frontcourt in case Embiid gets in foul trouble. It will also be difficult to exploit The 76ers’ defense if Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey/Melton, Thybulle, and Drummond are playing in the same game.
The 76ers are actually more dangerous than we think. The only team in the East with the best machinery to take down the Celtics in a playoff competition is not The Milwaukee Bucks, and neither is it, Brooklyn. It actually is the 76ers.
The Sixers are going to be facing a more challenging 2nd half for the rest of the season. Hopefully, the Soreness(with James Harden and Joel Embid feats) reduces as the 76ers face marquee matchups in the next few weeks.
