The Sixers' lack of depth didn't come back to bite them against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs. The same might not be true against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. By the end of the Celtics series, head coach Nick Nurse had effectively trimmed his rotation to six players—the five starters and Quentin Grimes. Andre Drummond played a few minutes off the bench to buy Joel Embiid some rest, while Justin Edwards and Dominick Barlow got a few spot minutes at times, too. But Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe were all routinely hovering around 40 minutes, and Embiid wasn't far behind. That helped the Sixers pull off a historic upset , but it left them running on fumes heading into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Knicks took full advantage of the gassed Sixers by effectively burying them before halftime Monday .…