Sixers: 5 storylines to watch in opening round vs. Wizards

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Sixers storyline to watch: Bench rotation

Doc Rivers has expressed remarkable confidence in his second unit all season. While that confidence has not always been reciprocated with consistent play, the second unit rounded into form over the season’s final month. Now the question is, how will Rivers adjust in the postseason?

While Rivers said he’s comfortable going 11-deep, he will not do so on a nightly basis. He may strive to keep the bench 10-deep for as long as possible, but most playoff rotations are cut down to eight or nine. The Wizards may not be good enough to force that adjustment this series, but it’s worth watching how Rivers handles his bench rotation.

Firstly, this is as good a time as any for Rivers to fully buy into staggering his rotations. There should never been five bench players on the floor at one time. Tobias Harris has been excellent when leading the bench units all season — that’s a combination Doc should embrace. The Sixers may also want to experiment more with the Ben Simmons-at-center groups, as the 6-foot-10 wunderkind simply cannot share the floor with Dwight Howard in games that matter.

If the Sixers do trim the second unit, who gets cut is an interesting conundrum. Matisse Thybulle, George Hill, and Dwight Howard feel like the only locks, though one could argue Howard is situationally impractical in a potential Eastern Conference Finals. Beyond that trio, Furkan Korkmaz or Shake Milton are on the chopping block. That doesn’t even take into consideration Tyrese Maxey, who has set the Sixers fandom ablaze over the last month.

Rivers has talked up Milton all season, but the third-year guard has been woefully inconsistent the entire campaign. Korkmaz is the Sixers’ most confident shooter, but possibly the second unit’s worst defender. Then, you factor in Thybulle’s offense, and whether or not he’s even playable with Embiid and Simmons once the Sixers arrive at a good team. Defenses will ignore him. How much time can his defense alone earn him?