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After Tyrese Maxey came off the bench in his first two games back from a left foot fracture, he returned to the starting lineup against the Indiana Pacers to begin five consecutive contests as a starter. But then, De’Anthony Melton replaced him as the starting guard alongside James Harden during both of Philadelphia’s wins in Los Angeles this week.
Following the Sixers’ narrow victory over the Lakers on Sunday, head coach Doc Rivers said the team intends to employ three different starting units moving forward.
“We told our team that there’s three different lineups that we’ll be using from this point on,” Rivers told reporters. “We were going to do it in the Utah game, but Tobias [Harris] was out. They know the lineups. I’m not going to share them, but there’s three different lineups we’ll use on different nights... Some nights, it will be to match up to [opponents]. Some nights, it’ll be to make them match up to us.”
For a team with title aspirations, rotating the starting five is a pretty bold and distinct approach. At 28-16 and third in the East, Philadelphia’s also played well, despite key starters shuffling in and out of the lineup this season. So, there’s some precedent for success with this group. Presumably, it’ll involve Maxey, Melton and P.J. Tucker toggling between a starting and reserve role.
What’re your thoughts on this decision from Rivers? Let us know!
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