Danny Green acknowledges the Sixers’ second-half schedule ‘looks exhausting’

Danny Green’s facial expression was a big giveaway to his thoughts about the 76ers’ second-half schedule.

The Sixers will play nine back-to-backs, with three sets per month in March, April, and May. The 36 games are scheduled over a grueling 67 days.

Green was asked after Thursday’s shootaround if he thinks there’s any danger by playing so many games in a short period of time. The small forward hasn’t missed a game this season, coming off a shortened offseason, after helping the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA title.

He gave a weird look while the question was asked.

“I think my facial reaction gave you what I thought about it,” said Green, who the Sixers acquired in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder in December, after the Thunder acquired him from Los Angeles in November. “I don’t want to think about the second half of the season right now.”

» READ MORE: The Sixers will open the second half of the regular season against the Bulls on March 11

He initially talked about Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Wells Fargo Center and taking one game at a time before the All-Star break. Green added that the Sixers can hopefully refresh their bodies and minds during the break (March 4-10).

But he couldn’t avoid talking about the second-half schedule.

“As I looked at it, it looks tiring, it looks exhausting,” he said. “Is there danger? Possibly. But there’s danger in every season. But when you shorten the season, when you compact it even more, there’s always been some injuries in the past because of more minutes, a lot of games, etc.

“When you have a lot of games, minutes, and back-to-back games like that, and travel as much as we are, yes it could be dangerous. But that’s why we have the medical staff we have here.”

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said the condensed second-half schedule is something all NBA teams are looking into. It something they will have to manage, he said.

“Are there concerns? Of course there are concerns,” he said before facing the Sixers. “But it’s going to have to be managed with strategic rest, managing minutes. Quality practices are probably going to be few and far between.

“Every team’s individual success is going to come down to their mental approach and their willingness to take on a difficult challenge.”

» READ MORE: Kyle Lowry would be the Sixers’ missing piece, but he’ll have options if it’s time to move on from the Raptors | Keith Pompey

The Sixers selected SPERGO and Girl Contracting, Inc. on Thursday as part of their Buy Black Program. SPERGO is a designer apparel brand based in Philadelphia and started by 15-year-old Trey Brown. Meanwhile, Girls Contracting, Inc. is a female-managed construction and real estate development company. Both companies will undergo company analysis and receive customized marketing strategies from the Sixers brand and creative teams.

“With more than 700 applications, the response for the 76ers Buy Black Program exemplifies the opportunity we have to support and help grow some amazing Black-owned businesses in our area,” Sixers chief diversity officer David Gould said in a statement. Our new partners, SPERGO and Girl Contracting, Inc., stood out as established businesses that are ready to grow, and – just as importantly – share the 76ers values of using the power of our business to inspire, make a difference, and have a positive impact in our communities.

“We couldn’t be more excited about launching these new partnerships and are looking forward to announcing additional programs next week to support more of our Buy Black applicants.”