Doc Rivers is Left With a Big Decision as Danny Green is Sidelined for 2 Weeks
After hobbling off of the court during Friday night’s Sixers win, the team announced Saturday that Danny Green will be sidelined, and re-evaluated in two weeks with a right calf strain. Doc Rivers is now left with a challenge to find his replacement.
Danny Green has played great basketball in his first year with the Sixers. He’s averaging 9.5 PTS, 3.8 REB, 1.7 AST, on 41.2/41.5/77.5 shooting splits. Tacking along some great defense on the perimeter, Green has been a positive to this team’s starting lineup in his opening year with the team. Pairing the leader up with Seth Curry has elevated both of their games, and it has showed throughout the whole season.
Losing a veteran leader like this is never good; however, the Sixers have a much deeper bench than they’ve had in previous years. With a plethora of shooting options, Furkan Korkmaz is my guess to take the spot in the starting rotation moving forward.
Furkan Korkmaz is averaging 9.1 points on the year, while shooting 40.1/37.5./73.2. His off the bench shooting has been big this year for the team, but his impact throughout fill in games as a starter has been even more impressive.
| Starter (11 GP) | 12.7 PTS | 2.7 3PM | 41.6% FG | 4.3 FGM | |
| Bench (44 GP) | 8.2 PTS | 1.6 3PM | 39.5% FG | 2.8 FGM |
Everyone that has watched the Sixers this year knows that Korkmaz has been a better player when he was in the starting lineup, as the stats show above. Furkan is the right pick for me, considering how valuable Matisse Thybulle’s defense is to the second unit, and not wanting to lose their current rotations. With Korkmaz’s defensive ability looking a lot more promising in Game 3, put your money on Furk heading into the starting lineup.
While Korkmaz seems like the right choice, Doc does have other options. He can try to explore Thybulle in the starting lineup, and make a defensive juggernaut, but at the same time, taking Tisse’s defense out of the bench lineups and second unit doesn’t seem like it would end well. George Hill could be a long shot option, or even Shake Milton after his light-up game 2.
With many options to explore with, Doc Rivers will have a big decision to make for Monday. The Sixers will play Game 4 in Atlanta, looking to advance their series lead to 3-1. With Danny Green out for at least two weeks with a right calf strain, keep your eyes open for some different rotations coming very soon.
Mandatory Credit: Getty Images
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