Doc Rivers Says Fatigued Sixers Didn't Stand a Chance vs. Grizzlies
The Philadelphia 76ers' schedule has been extremely difficult as of late. Two weekends ago, the Sixers participated in a back to back with one game at home and another in New York. Following the road matchup against the New York Knicks, the Sixers then hit the road to fly out West for a four-game stint before heading to Cleveland to close out the six-game road trip this past Thursday.
After getting a day off, the Sixers then resumed their season on Saturday with a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Less than 24 hours later, they tipped off again against the Memphis Grizzlies.
As expected, the Sixers looked like they were in a slump on Sunday. After going toe-to-toe with the Timberwolves and picking up a hard-fought victory, the 76ers seemingly used up all of their energy on Saturday night. So, when Sunday's game rolled around, they struggled to keep up with Memphis, who had two days off before Sunday's matchup.
“We’re human, and we played a lot of games in this stretch on the road as long as we were, and you come back on the back-to-back,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said after the game. “With the eight o'clock game on one night and the seven o'clock game the next, we didn’t stand much of a chance. We played a team that had the night off the night before, with great energy. They played hard, so give them credit, and you could tell that they knew that. Not a lot we can do about it.”
In Sunday's game, the Sixers drained just 41-percent of their shots from the field and 23-percent of their three-pointers in the 116-100 loss. 76ers veteran center Dwight Howard mentioned that from the jump, he suspected it was going to be one of those nights where the team is fatigued, and nothing will go their way.
“I don’t want to make any excuses, but I could tell that we were all tired,” Howard stated after the game. “Even me being a young 35, I was a little winded tonight. We just got to make sure we get our bodies right and get ready for the next one."
While they certainly didn't get the results they wanted on Sunday, the Sixers aren't going to dwell on losing the second night of a back-to-back. As soon as the fourth quarter rolled around, Doc Rivers and the crew accepted defeat and are already looking forward to playing the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
