Rivers Spoke to Sixers' Big Three About Increasing Minutes in Game 7

The Sixers will take their home floor Sunday night with an opportunity to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2001. Despite everything that has gone down in this series with the Hawks, everything now comes down to just one game. 

With so much hanging in the balance, all the key players are sure to see a bump in minutes. Doc Rivers has stuck with a deep rotation all playoffs, but that might change in a Game 7 situation. 

After the team's film session on Saturday, Rivers spoke to the media. In that time, he said he has already talked to the Sixers' big three about extending their minutes for Sunday's matchup. Rivers mentioned each time he talks to them about it, he attempts to increase the number they think they can go. 

Finding the ideal number where guys can play longer and still be effective is crucial for Rivers. This balance is something he spoke in-depth about on Saturday. 

"Everybody has a number where all of a sudden, they're not as productive as you want them to be. What we've learned is once they get over that, it's hard for them to come back," said Rivers. 

The Sixers' stars should have no issues seeing more time on the floor in Game 7. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris have played extended minutes in the past when needed and should be eager to do so on Sunday. Monitoring Joel Embiid's minutes will be a priority due to his knee injury, but he will likely want to play a large majority of this game. 

In big games like this, rotations need to be thrown out the window. We have seen the Bucks and Nets do so in their series, and it's time for the Sixers to do the same. With so much hanging in the balance, the Sixers are going to need their key players out there to secure a trip to the conference finals.  

Kevin McCormick covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN and Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinMcCNBA.