The Philadelphia 76ers are riding on a high after logging a historic win at the expense of the Boston Celtics in Game 7. Now, they are set to duke it out with the New York Knicks, another familiar foe, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. If there is one thing that will be similar as they approach this series, it is that they will be the underdogs once again and will be on the hunt for another massive upset.
That escapade, however, will presuppose a steeper climb for the 76ers. Unlike the Celtics, the Knicks will have their full deck. Meanwhile, although Philly is likewise relatively healthy, Nick Nurse and his coaching staff seem to have unintentionally put the team at a disadvantage right from the get go with their decision to trim the rotation as much as possible.
For the most part in the first round, Nurse and company have made the deliberate choice to minimize the minutes available to their bench cogs. Essentially, the 76ers have trotted out a six-man rotation with Andre Drummond having cameo appearances to spell Joel Embiid. Given that they are heavily fatigued and banged up after having to overcome a 3-1 deficit, that is a huge risk that could backfire against a fresher team like New York.
76ers could be setting themselves up for disaster against the Knicks
The Knicks will be heavily favored against the 76ers, but this consensus does not just double down on what can be seen on paper. New York has legitimate edges over Philadelphia, and one of them is having a deeper squad across the board.
Against the Hawks, Mike Brown and his staff have deployed a nine-man rotation which helped them pull away from Atlanta after a 2-2 deadlock. That is in stark contrast with what the 76ers were forced to do in account of the flat contributions they have gotten from their second unit.
So now, not only is New York coming into the semis with less mileage than the others (they are the only remaining team in the race out East which did not have to play a Game 7), they are also going to revel in the fact that their opponents have less playable bodies.
The 76ers do not have a sterling track record when it comes to the health department, so shortening their rotation to the extremes is certainly a huge risk. While they simply do not have a choice at this juncture, it does not change the fact that it puts the Knicks at a position of clear advantage. Hopefully, their tight rotation can compensate for the lack of depth with their sheer firepower, although that remains a dicey proposition.
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