Since play resumed following the All-Star break, the supporting cast of the Philadelphia 76ers has been a common topic of conversation. Initially, it looked like the addition of James Harden was going to do wonders for some of the Sixers' role players.

The All-Star guard's ability to be a maestro in the pick-and-roll elevated players like Georges Niang and Matisse Thybulle. When Daryl Morey signed DeAndre Jordan to replace Andre Drummond at backup center, many agreed it was to have a lob-catching big on the floor with Harden during the non-Embiid minutes.

However, the past week has not been kind to Doc Rivers' second unit. They have struggled to find consistent offense, and it led to multiple opponents going on big runs when the Sixers' starters came off the floor. The inconsistencies off the bench began to draw comparisons of some previous top-heavy Sixers teams.

While the bench unit has certainly had its blunders as of late, they managed to put together a strong showing against the Dallas Mavericks Friday night. When Philly went on their run to keep the Mavs at arm's length for good, it was with a lineup of Harden and four bench players. Harden taking over played a factor in this, but the supporting cast around him did their part to help secure the victory.

After the game, Doc Rivers was quick to praise a pair of his role players. The first was Niang, whom Rivers applauded for maintaining a willingness to shoot from beyond the arc despite some recent struggles shooting-wise. In 27 minutes off the bench, the sharpshooting Sixers forward notched 12 points on stellar 4-for-7 shooting from deep.

“What you love about Georges [Niang], he drowns out any of the noise. Georges can miss fifty straight shots, and he's going to take the next one. It's a great lesson for everyone because Georges can shoot. That's what his job is. So he should continue to shoot them. I think it's great for our young guys to see that,” said Rivers.

Later on, Rivers also opened up on how impressed he was by Jordan's showing off the bench. The veteran big man scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in his 13 minutes of action.

“He was great. That's what he does, sneaks behind the defense, blocks shots. It's funny, as he was going in at the table, I think [Jalen] Brunson had just beat Joel [Embiid] off the dribble and got to the basket. I turned to him and said, ‘you got to hit that, that's your job, that can't happen,' and he got one. He's long, he sneaks behind the defense. You can't step up on James [Harden] with him behind you,” Rivers said.

As two Sixers players who are locked for the playoff rotation, performances like these are needed in the final weeks of the season. They need to do everything they can to head into the postseason trending in the right direction.

Even with adding a star player at the trade deadline, the Sixers still have championship aspirations. Getting consistent production like this from the guys off the bench will be crucial if they want to achieve their ultimate goal.