The Wizards and Sixers meet in the first round, having similar, yet different paths leading them to this spot. Philadelphia underwent a long Process in their attempts to morph into a title contender but now they are clearly here. Washington rebuilt on the fly relatively quickly to get back to the postseason in the post-John Wall era.
NBA journalist Jackson Frank and I spoke about Scott Brooks’ rotation, what the Wizards can do to slow down Joel Embiid, and how Doc Rivers will eventually set Philadelphia’s rotation throughout the playoffs among other topics on the Locker Room app.
Listen to the entire Sixers-Wizards preview here.
Despite what Wizards twitter might lead you to believe, Scott Brooks has done a nice job with his rotations give the limitations on the roster. Washington’s forward rotation was a mess earlier this season with Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans nursing injuries, then Russell Westbrook got hurt and as the team was getting healthy post-trade deadline, rookie Deni Avdija was sidelined with a season-ending injury.
Washington will need to overcome depth issues at the small forward spot as well as a lack of proven options in the frontcourt if they are going to pull off the upset.
The Wizards-Sixers begins in Philadelphia at 1:00 pm on Sunday.
