Coach Doc Rivers explains why Sixers sent Isaiah Joe to the G League
The Philadelphia 76ers have been in need of a spark off the bench lately as that unit has struggled to create any open looks. One move that the team was expected to do was put rookie Isaiah Joe in the rotation ahead of a struggling Furkan Korkmaz and give him a look to see what he can do.
However, the team has now decided to change courses and they have sent Joe down to the G League bubble in Orlando. He will be with the team’s affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, and get him some time and some minutes down there.
“Just minutes at the end of the day,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He still wasn’t playing a lot of minutes and we just felt like, man, we gotta get these guys to minutes. We got to get them playing on the floor, and I think it can only benefit them. They’re too young to have an All-Star break is the bottom line.”
That is the challenge with a veteran team like the Sixers. They want to try and win as many games as possible and then they also want to get their younger guys some minutes and help them develop. That will not happen at the NBA level and that is why the G League is so important for teams like them.
The Blue Coats have four games left on their schedule so that will give Joe some time to get the development he needs to become a better and more rounded out player. If Delaware can make the playoffs, that would be even more beneficial for him.
“He won’t be down long,” Rivers finished. “We’re gonna need him, but we just felt like with the All-Star break coming, there’s an opportunity to play a lot of games. He can play at least two and then playoffs and maybe keep him down for a couple. We’ll see how it all shakes out.”
Meanwhile, the Sixers host the Indiana Pacers on Monday at 7 p.m. EST.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
