The Philadelphia 76ers walked away as winners on opening night with a 113-107 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, and they can thank their bench for that. The starting unit struggled as they started working out the kinks while also working through a new system and the bank came in and provided a big lift.
Shake Milton threw in 19 points while also playing a flawless defense against Wizards stars Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, Furkan Korkmaz had 11, Tyrese Maxey had six and Dwight Howard had 10 rebounds. The Sixers needed all of that to win this match as the starters outside of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons struggled a bit.
“There will be games that the starting unit will play great,” said Korkmaz on Thursday after practice. ‘Then the second unit will play a bit badly. Yesterday (Wednesday) I think the second unit did a great job. “
The second unit helped the Sixers build a 50-37 lead late in the second quarter before the starters came back in and the Wizards took off to take the lead at half time. That was followed by Philadelphia’s dismal third quarter, where startups weren’t able to collect a bucket until 6:04 of the third quarter.
Coach Doc Rivers put the bench back there and they helped get the team in a little bit and then they helped clear the floor so Embiid could dominate the whole piece.
“In the first half we got a big lead,” added Korkmaz. “I think we got 12 points in the game in the first half, but it was a game, I think, at the end of the day, winning is a win, but I think the second unit did a great job. “
For Simmons, he was happy to see his teammates leave at a big moment. To get where they want to go, they need everyone on the team to act and contribute. It can’t just be the starters every night so this is a good sign for them as a group.
“It’s huge,” said Simmons of the sofa. “It’s great to watch guys come in, play plays and get to our stuff. On the defensive side, then stop and be defensively proud of our matchups. Everyone should be on the same page, especially if it’s the other way around. Our second group can’t get it done, guys have to come forward. This team is built on that. “
Gigs like the one on Wednesday also help ease some pressure on starters. On nights when they just won’t have it like in this one, the bank can come in and produce. The team has struggled with the bank in the past, but this is a different team at the moment. The bank can also push starters to perform better.
“No pressure, it’s more, it feeds us,” Simmons concluded. “We also want to get started. When we see them kill it and it’s our time to go back, we want to do the same thing, and that’s championship basketball. Everyone has to play their part and get it done. “
Philadelphia will try to keep growing as a team when they take on the New York Knicks on the road on Saturday.