Doc Rivers explains his decision to visit Dewayne Dedmon following the loss to Suns
The Philadelphia 76ers had many problems on Saturday. 125-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Outside of Tyrese Maxey, they didn’t have a lot go their way on the second night of a back-to-back without James Harden.
On Saturday, the Sixers’ bench unit was their biggest problem. The bench unit for the Suns outscored Philadelphia’s bench 53-17 as the Sixers had their issues in the minutes when Joel Embiid was off the floor. Dewayne Dedmon, Paul Reed, and Dewayne Dedmon struggled in their backup center positions.
Reed played 6:18 in the first period. He was a plus-2, with his issues on both ends. Coach Doc Rivers then went to the veteran Dedmon in the second half and his minutes weren’t great either as he was a minus-13 in 9:22.
Dedmon’s decision was not easy. Reed had his moments, but it was more sensible to stick with the more athletic Reed than Dedmon, considering the Suns’ play style. He is 33 years old, and has had to deal with injuries that limit his mobility.
“Just needed some life,” Rivers told reporters of his decision. “That first group in the first half gave us nothing. We have Dedmon here and we need to get him some minutes to see what he can give us.”
In Dedmon’s defense, it’s not like he’s a regular in the rotation and he hasn’t been able to get on the court too much. He could have had rust, and he may be able to help the team in the future.
But, watching Saturday’s minutes, it is not hard to wonder how much Dedmon still has in the tank.