For just the third time this season, Philadelphia 76ers’ veteran forward Georges Niang didn’t play on Wednesday night against the Miami Heat.
When Niang missed back-to-back games back in early December, it was a result of a minor setback. Wednesday’s game against the Heat, however, was a different story.
Going into the game, Niang was healthy and available. Typically one of the first players to check in for the Sixers off the bench, it came as a shock to see Doc Rivers call on Danuel House Jr., who has been out of the team’s rotation now for quite some time.
Niang’s moment to play on Wednesday night in Miami never came. At the end of the night, the veteran forward had picked up a DNP for the first time this season.
After the game, Rivers explained his decision behind sitting Niang for the night.
“Just they’re small,” he explained during his postgame press conference. “I saw that in the game, the last game, and I had already made my mind up on that. I was like, ‘They’re gonna play small ball, and there is no one for Georges to guard.’ That was the D-House part.”
This season, Niang’s been one of the Sixers’ most consistent three-point shooters. In 58 games, the veteran has knocked down 40 percent of his shots on five attempts per game. Lately, though, Niang has hit a rough patch with his shooting.
Over the last ten games, the veteran attempted four threes per game. He’s knocked down just 29 percent of his shots from deep. Mix in his recent offensive hiccups, along with a bad defensive fit against Miami’s small-ball lineup, and Rivers saw an opportunity to give House some notable minutes for the first time since New Year’s Eve when he checked in for 28 minutes.
It doesn’t sound like Rivers is trending toward keeping the gameplan for Philly’s Thursday night matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, but it is a situation to keep an eye on moving forward.
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