Doc Rivers Guarantees Sixers Will Miss Starters vs. Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers are set to return to the court on Monday night for the first time since their Game 6 playoff loss against the Miami Heat back in May.

After six days of training camp on the road in Charleston, South Carolina, the 76ers make another stop in New York on Monday.

The 76ers will open up their preseason run against the Brooklyn Nets. It will be the first of four matchups before the 2022-2023 season officially begins.

In the preseason, teams don’t always sit their starters as it offers guys minutes to get back into game shape and build chemistry with new teammates without costly mistakes. 

However, coaches want their players to avoid suffering injuries and fatigue in meaningless matchups. Therefore, the option of sitting key players is always intriguing.

76ers head coach Doc Rivers seems sold on sitting several key players on Monday night in Brooklyn. While he wouldn’t reveal who will play or not as he’s undecided, it probably won’t be hard to predict who will miss Monday’s game versus the Nets.

“Not many of them, but a couple may,” said Rivers. “It’s still not really decided, honestly. At least three will sit.” (via Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire). 

Best Guesses

76ers star Joel Embiid has proven to be one of the NBA’s most dominant players as he finished second in the league’s MVP voting over the last two seasons. He’s also recently dealt with his fair share of injuries, as he underwent two surgeries in the offseason and recovered from another significant setback throughout the summer.

While Embiid takes pride in playing as many games and minutes as possible, it wouldn’t shock anybody if the Sixers decided to give the big man rest on Monday, as he’s been involved with every training camp session since the Sixers started their offseason activities last week.

Philly star James Harden might be in the same boat. Although Harden’s healthy and feeling great after a productive offseason, the ten-time All-Star has enough NBA experience to skip out on a couple of preseason games. That’s not to say he’s guaranteed to miss Monday’s matchup against his former squad, but Harden seems like a logical candidate to sit out.

The third prospect could be a toss-up between PJ Tucker and Tobias Harris. With Tucker on a new team and in a new system, the Sixers could use this time to get the veteran forward acclimated with his new organization on the court. However, Rivers and Daryl Morey clarified that they would prioritize keeping the 37-year-old healthy and fresh for the games that matter most.

Considering Tobias Harris has been with the Sixers since 2018, he has more than enough experience playing with Philadelphia. While he’s not one to take games off — he might be a candidate to sit out against Brooklyn on Monday. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.