Recent blowouts are helping the Sixers get needed rest in the homestretch | Off the Dribble

The 76ers were supposed to start the toughest remaining stretch on Wednesday with the first of three games against teams with a winning record.

The first didn’t turn out so competitive, with Wednesday’s 127-83 home victory over the injury-plagued Atlanta Hawks.

The teams meet against Friday at the Wells Fargo Center, and then the Sixers visit San Antonio on Sunday. After that, just one of the final eight games will be against a team with a winning record.

The Sixers have enjoyed two consecutive routs, including Monday’s 121-90 home win over Oklahoma City. These blowouts can have a big impact on the Sixers in the stretch run.

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The Sixers (41-21) just made history, and the benefit could help the entire team as it prepares for the stretch run.

Their recent wins over OKC and Atlanta were by a combined 75 points. According to Sportsradar, the 75 points are the largest margin of victory over a two-game span in franchise history.

The real benefit is that the Sixers, like many NBA teams, have been banged up, although their collective health has improved markedly.

Against Atlanta and OKC, nobody on the Sixers played as many as 26 minutes. Going back to Saturday’s 132-94 loss at Milwaukee, Shake Milton was the only Sixer who played as many as 26 minutes.

» READ MORE: The Sixers are stealing their way to wins | Off the Dribble

A player who could use a lighter load is Tobias Harris. After missing four of six games with a bone bruise in his right knee, Harris has played the last four. Because of the recent routs, he has averaged just 26.7 minutes in those games.

“It is important,” Harris said about getting the time off. “I think it allows us to get a little bit extra rest, which is necessary for this group.”

Harris isn’t expecting to continue getting more rest during Friday’s rematch with the Hawks.

“We see these guys in a day and they’re going to bring it as well so we just have to be ready for another matchup with them, but we have to keep going and keep flowing,” he said.

The extra rest for the players was welcomed by coach Doc Rivers.

“It’s obviously not planned, but it is nice when it happens,” Rivers said. “They are playing enough to kind of get a rhythm as well, so getting both of those things, winning the game and getting guys rest, knowing we’re going to play the same team and they’re going to have all their guys the next game, is pretty beneficial for us.”

Atlanta won’t have all its guys, but on Thursday night’s NBA injury report, two players who were sidelined against the Sixers — Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovich — were listed as questionable and another who missed Wednesday’s game, Tony Snell, was listed as probable.

In addition, Clint Capela, who played against the Sixers, was listed as questionable with right heel pain. Three other Hawks, Cam Reddish, Kevin Huerter and De’Andre Hunter, who didn’t face the Sixers on Wednesday, are listed as out.

Keith Pompey writes that Matisse Thybulle should be on the NBA all-defensive team.

The Sixers are often referred to as a “young” team, but Pompey writes that they are more experienced than people realize and that the veteran leadership has been a big part of the team’s success.

Pompey provides his best/worst awards for Wednesday’s rout over Atlanta. Check out Keith’s best statistics, totally mind-boggling.

Pompey writes that as Milton’s game grows, so do expectations.

Seth Curry has been hitting his stride the last few games, which bodes well for the Sixers.

On Wednesday, Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook earned his 30th triple-double of the season with 18 points, 18 rebounds, and 14 assists in the Wizards’ 117-106 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the 176th of his career.

Even though he is accumulating triple-doubles with regularity, it is still difficult to do. For instance, the Sixers’ leader this season is Ben Simmons, with four.

» READ MORE: The Sixers recorded the most steals in the NBA this season vs. the turnover-prone OKC Thunder | Best/worst

Here are the top five players this season, courtesy of Basketball-reference.com:

1. Russell Westbrook, Washington, 30

2. Nikola Jokic, Denver, 15

3. James Harden, Brooklyn, 12

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas, 9

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee, 7

Here are the career leaders. The NBA did not track triple-doubles until 1979-80, but Basketball-reference.com lists all known triple-doubles since 1950-51, when rebounds became an official statistic.

1. Oscar Robertson, 181

2. Russell Westbrook, 176

3. Magic Johnson, 138

4. Jason Kidd, 107

5. LeBron James, 99

6. Wilt Chamberlain, 78

Friday: Atlanta Hawks at Sixers, 7 p.m. Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Sunday: Sixers at San Antonio Spurs, 8 p.m., AT&T Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Monday: Sixers at Chicago Bulls, 9 p.m., United Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Wednesday: Sixers at Houston Rockets, 8 p.m., Toyota Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Next Friday: New Orleans Pelicans at Sixers, 7 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Question: Which players do you expect to see lose minutes in the playoffs as the rotation tightens (barring injury)? — David Cohen from Facebook.

Answer: Thanks for the question, David. The short answer is I expect just about everybody coming off the bench to lose minutes because Rivers will want to go with his starters longer. Rivers has done a good job of keeping minutes down. Here are the starters’ averages: Harris (32.8), Simmons (32.7), Joel Embiid (31.7), Curry (28.7), and Danny Green (28.2).

I could see Harris, Simmons, and Embiid moving up to 36 minutes per game, and if that is the case, for example, Dwight Howard would go from 17.3 to about 12 a game. Plus, there is the George Hill factor. Hill will cut into some of the guard minutes off the bench, probably affecting someone such as Milton. Milton leads the reserves with 23.6 minutes per game, but I wouldn’t expect that many.

Even a defensive presence such as Thybulle, who is averaging 20 minutes, likely won’t play that many in the playoffs. Foul trouble could change a lot of this, but at least from the Sixers’ big three, I would expect heavier playoff minutes, especially after the first round.

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