Sixers riding high after a successful stretch without their stars: ‘Honestly, we feel great’

When the door separating the Wells Fargo Center press conference room and a hallway leading to the 76ers’ locker room swung open Monday, music blared from the celebration following a comeback win over the Atlanta Hawks. And when media entered the Sixers’ space a few minutes later, there was more boisterous joking and banter among players than usual.

That scene was emblematic of the collective mood of these 12-9 Sixers, who have won seven of their last nine games despite missing at least one of All-NBA center Joel Embiid, perennial All-Star James Harden, and young standout Tyrese Maxey — and sometimes all three — in every contest.

It’s not just that the Sixers are racking up victories, standout forward Tobias Harris said. Those injuries have forced players up and down the roster ― many of whom had been out of the rotation — to contribute.

Shake Milton has averaged 22 points on 56.3% shooting, 6.6 assists, and 5.9 rebounds in his last seven games. Harris has scored at least 23 points in four of his five games since returning from hip soreness. Danuel House Jr., Furkan Korkmaz, Paul Reed, and Montrezl Harrell have flashed their ability.

» READ MORE: With the Sixers’ stars sidelined, Shake Milton emerged when they needed him most

“Honestly, we feel great,” Harris said following Monday’s victory. “The whole group, the energy, the vibe is extremely positive. And, if I’m really being honest, all that is a tribute to, honestly, the way that we’ve been winning and everybody feeling themselves out there.

“Everybody [is] getting into a groove and a good rhythm. Those things make the whole group feel good about themselves.”

Perhaps that’s why Embiid had a mindset to get his teammates involved — “they’ve been playing so well, so I just wanted to keep that going,” he said — in his first game back following a four-game absence with a foot sprain. Conversely, coach Doc Rivers noted two or three times when Milton should have attacked with the ball in his hands and instead stopped to dish it to Embiid.

Maintaining balance and flow is one of the Sixers’ next steps as they first reimplement Embiid before Harden and Maxey return in the coming days and weeks. They next play at the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, who entered Tuesday as top-four teams in their respective conferences.

“We have some work to do, but it’s easy work,” Rivers said. “It’s very fixable.”

After the Hawks shot 56.5% in the first quarter Monday to build their double-digit lead, the Sixers again turned to a zone defense that keyed their rally and eventual victory.

Rivers said that shift was partially because of the matchup. The coach estimated that the Miami Heat had played zone for about 80% of their Sunday victory over the Hawks, making that “easier to scout.” But the strategy has “won some games for us already,” Rivers said, as part of an overall defensive unit that has been the NBA’s most efficient (105.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) entering Tuesday.

“They were killing our man [defense] early,” Rivers said of Monday’s game. “And you just need to go to that to get them out of rhythm.”

» READ MORE: Sixers’ P.J. Tucker opens up about his lack of scoring

How much the Sixers work on playing zone might depend on whom you ask. Rivers recently said he dedicates five minutes of each practice or shootaround to it, though Harris said Monday, “honestly, we haven’t practiced zone that much.” Embiid also recently called going to zone too often “lazy,” emphasizing that each player should be able to guard his man.

That defensive flexibility can be useful in certain circumstances, however. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back with a shorthanded roster is one. Rivers has also identified players who particularly excel in a zone, calling wing Matisse Thybulle “phenomenal” because of his length and ability to cover ground while also highlighting House as a solid option.

“[The Hawks] were able to make shots through the zone, so it was kind of tough for us,” Harris said. “But on a back-to-back and having a lot of guys play a lot of minutes that haven’t been used to those minutes, we did need something to kind of preserve our legs and be able to withstand the whole game and get a victory.”

Thybulle’s eyes widened in shock when informed he played less than eight minutes Monday in his return from ankle inflammation.

“It was the perfect amount,” Thybulle said. “It felt like a lot more than seven minutes.”

That’s a sign Thybulle still needs to get back into game shape after missing three contests and being severely limited in the three before that. Yet the all-defensive wing said his ankle “held up pretty well” during Monday’s small bursts of game action.

He was a team-high plus-12 in the Sixers’ win. He made both of his shot attempts, including a key driving layup in the fourth quarter, and collected one steal.

A pregame question about the possibility of Milton playing his way into the starting lineup led to a testy exchange between Rivers and a reporter.

“You want him to play in front of James or Tyrese?” Rivers said. “Just curious.”

“P.J.,” the reporter responded, referring to P.J. Tucker.

“So, you want us to be really small and get dominated on the glass?” Rivers answered.

Though Tucker has never been a marquee scorer, that he has totaled zero points in seven of the Sixers’ last eight games has become a prominent story line with outsiders. Rivers used Monday as another opportunity to defend his team’s most prominent free-agency signing, whose net rating (plus-6.9) is tied with Embiid and the highest of any Sixer who has played in at least 18 games.

“[People] look at points. That’s all we focus on,” Rivers said. “… I go back to the Milwaukee game. No P.J., we probably don’t win that game. I can go to Orlando. [Top overall draft pick Paolo] Banchero, he didn’t want to see P.J. on the floor. So this is not just an offensive game.

“You have to play both ends, and guys have to play roles and guys have to fit.”