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While other Eastern Conference teams start to rest players in the last few games of the regular season, head coach Brett Brown has no time to do such thing with his Philadelphia 76ers, as they continue a furious pursuit of locking down the third seed while this new core of starters jells into its full playoff form.
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“Once that becomes established, then you can figure out other options if you want to,” Brown said, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Because we have played so few games together, the importance of keeping these guys as much as you can on the court and experiencing playing with each other is really important.
“So somewhere out there, you hope to strike a balance.”
The Sixers are coming off resting Joel Embiid for several games due to issues with his back and recently sat point guard Ben Simmons due to a stomach virus, making that only nine games played by the entire starting core out of a possible 20.
Out of those nine games together, the 47-26 Sixers are 7-2 when their usual starting lineup — of newcomer Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick, Embiid and Simmons. Due to the load management, Embiid could sit out at least another game, possibly as part of a back-to-back situation.
Philly is now 2.5 games ahead of the fourth-place Indiana Pacers (45-29) with nine games remaining on the season.
While getting fresh legs is of utmost importance heading into a playoff run, clinching the third spot will be the No. 1 task for Brown as he finishes out this season, likely able to give his starters a rest once the Sixers have locked down the third seed.
