Doc Rivers Explains 76ers’ Bench Success vs. Pistons

The Philadelphia 76ers’ bench ranks as one of the lowest-scoring units in the NBA. Through 30 games, the Sixers’ bench has produced just 823 points, ranking higher than only the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Statmuse.

Statistically, it’s been a struggle for the Sixers’ bench to make an impact and produce, but head coach Doc Rivers offered a logical explanation on that Wednesday night.

“I just think part of the reason is when all of these guys were out, [the bench players] were starting,” said Rivers.

With injuries taking out three of five starters for several stretches of games, the Sixers have had no choice but to promote their key bench players to the starting lineup at times. Now with the Sixers getting healthier, the rotations are beginning to normalize. And the players who saw their playing time increase for a stretch are able to use the confidence they’ve gained during that time to make a bigger impact during their limited minutes.

“They were playing major minutes, and now they have confidence,” said Rivers. “We work with them. We worked after practice today with the bench-only group trying to get spacing. We ran a play out of the timeout; that’s what they were all pointing to the bench because we actually worked on a play, and it actually worked. It only works if the guy makes the shot, and Georges [Niang] made the shot, so he was happy.”

Following the Sixers’ Wednesday morning shootaround, Doc Rivers and the bench unit put in additional time as a group. Sixers’ backup guard Shake Milton revealed at the time that the bench unit was working on a set that the Sixers have “many different variations of,” and the team was also working on making “plays after the play.”

The extra work following the shootaround clearly did its job, as the 76ers’ bench unit had an above-average scoring night as a whole.

“They have good chemistry together,” Rivers explained. “They’re starting to read each other really well. One of the things I think they do a great job of when the play breaks down is they find (Montrezl Harrell). They just throw it to him anywhere. And we go dribble handoff, and we get scoring out of that. That’s actually becoming part of the offense for them. It almost seems at times they want to go to that, which is not a bad thing to do.”

Georges Niang led the Sixers’ bench with 11 points on Wednesday. Montrezl Harrell followed with ten points of his own. In total, Philadelphia’s bench outscored Detroit’s unit 47-40 as the Sixers defeated the Pistons 113-93, improving to 18-12 on the year.

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