Doc Rivers Talks James Harden, 76ers' 2nd-Unit Struggles After Loss to Pistons

The new-look Philadelphia 76ers have hit some bumps in the road.

Head coach Doc Rivers was asked if the bench unit struggled during the team's shocking 102-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night, its third straight defeat, and offered the following sentiment: 

"They didn't struggle," he answered. "They didn't get a lot of shots, in their defense. I think during that stretch it was more James [Harden] than them. Yeah, it's just a tough night."

It's possible that Rivers' comments were taken somewhat out of context, however:

If Rivers was publicly laying the blame on Harden it will surely raise some eyebrows. And it would be be hard to argue with such an assessment—Harden finished 4-of-15 from the field for 18 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three turnovers. The Sixers were outscored 29-15 in the fourth quarter, with the Pistons closing the game on a 23-9 run.

"I thought it was a tough game," Rivers told reporters. "I thought offensively, we really just stood around. ... We played with very little life tonight, didn't play together at all."

Rivers wasn't alone in his assessment that the offense stagnated:

Because of how the Sixers stagger minutes, Harden often sees time with a number of bench players. But the bench unit combined to take just 12 shots for the entire game, making only three of them for eight points. 

Detroit's bench, by contrast, went 16-of-27 from the field for 39 points. It's never easy to win when your reserves are outscored by 31. 

The bench has taken a lot of heat in Philly after role players like Seth Curry and Andre Drummond were sent to the Brooklyn Nets in the Harden trade, leaving the Sixers without much depth in the process. 

Philly's playoff rotation might legitimately only run eight players deep, with only Georges Niang, Danny Green and whoever emerges as the backup center behind Joel Embiid—at this point, DeAndre Jordan appears to have the edge on Paul Millsap and Paul Reed—seemingly guaranteed minutes. 

Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz are the only other players who might see time. The pickings are slim. 

But on Thursday, Rivers wasn't willing to throw that unit under the bus. Instead, it appeared that he put more of the onus on Harden.