3. The rotation is short
Brett Brown used a nine-man rotation, but he virtually cut the rotation to seven in the second half. On the game, Furkan Korkmaz tallied seven minutes and Mike Scott played only two. The other two reserves — Alec Burks and Matisse Thybulle — played 27 and 32, respectively.
This is a bit concerning, as the Sixers will definitely feel the effects of playing only seven players such heavy minutes. Boston’s bench isn’t great, but the Sixers would presumably like to go more than seven deep without finding themselves in significant trouble.
The problem, of course, is neither Korkmaz nor Scott are built for success in this series. This is where the Sixers really feel the absence of not only Ben Simmons, but of Glenn Robinson III, who could miss the entire series — if not a large chunk of it.
Keep tabs on Raul Neto, who despite his defensive limitations could be brought in to uplift the stagnant halfcourt offense. Philadelphia struggled with turnovers and with making even the most basic entry passes to initiate the offense on Monday. Neto can help in that regard.
Until then, and until Robinson gets healthy, Brown will continue to skate on thin ice. Both Thybulle and Burks are essential to Philadelphia’s success — more essential than some of the starters, even — but to have only two functional bench pieces is a death sentence for a team as easily burned out as Philadelphia.