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Training time is scarce during a normal NBA season, and this is just one more thing that has been cut due to the impact of COVID-19. A condensed schedule left the Sixers with little time to rest, let alone get up and work together, and it made life difficult for a team that is in the process of integrating a new team under new staff. coaches and a set of philosophies.
Doc Rivers, who said late last week that Philadelphia had introduced only a “small percentage” of games he wants to make the call sheet this year, knows every day they can. showing up together is an opportunity they can’t waste. So the head coach said they may have been extreme in training on Tuesday, relishing the opportunity to train with almost a full squad.
“At the moment we don’t have enough [plays] to see where one of our guys is, if you want me to be honest, “Rivers said on Tuesday.” We had a day today that was important, we worked on a lot of things, probably too much, to be honest. But we had to, in my opinion, we had no choice … you’re almost in try to win a game mode right now. And that’s really not where you should be in this part of the season, you should be working on your running style and improving yourself, and I think most of the teams are more into what I have. said first. Let’s see what we can do and keep working when we have time. “
The team have already seen what kind of difference a single game can make for the team. On the day of their first win over Miami last week, the Sixers spent filming operating from a Rivers structure called “Delay,” the goal being to get the ball back to Joel Embiid in the middle of the floor. They would end up relying heavily on that concept in Embiid’s 45-point performance that same night, coming back to that good several times in the fourth quarter and in overtime because the Heat couldn’t stop him.
Having everyone available to even work on a piece has been a big challenge for Rivers, who will likely still be without at least one starter by Wednesday. Seth Curry, whose positive COVID test set off a chain reaction for the team over the past two weeks, did not participate in Tuesday’s practice, a fact that was revealed by none other than Matisse Thybulle ( thanks for the help, kid.)
Rivers was thrilled to have such a large group as Tuesday, and even that came with caveats. Embiid (knee), who was due to miss the full weekend of games before their OKC meeting was postponed, was “in and out of practice” according to the head coach, although he should be prepare for Wednesday’s meeting with Boston. Things have been so scattered for Philadelphia lately that they have had to spend part of the practice administering a trainer’s test for things they’ve already taken in the past just to make sure they had defined certain concepts before adding or expanding concepts.
“We did a lot of skeleton stuff calling stuff and just to see if they could perform it and [it was] probably average, ”Rivers said. Some could, some didn’t, and I guess for the staff it told us what we didn’t know, or what we did know. So we had the chance to work on some of that. “
“We’re not one of those teams that have the luxury of being together for many years. We’ve got so many new bodies, a new system, a new coach, everything. So having all these games and no training and then having all these guys out there, and even your shootarounds aren’t what you expect from them, absolutely affected us. I would love to say it isn’t, but there’s no doubt you can. see today, trying to throw some simple actions that we can’t remember or we had bad timing, so [it was an] important practice. I don’t know if this will show results right away, but it’s really necessary. “
The only solace for the Sixers, and it’s not particularly heartwarming, is that the chaos has affected the entire league. Matches have been postponed left and right since the start of the new year, with the Sixers already on both sides of the under-limited roster equation. It created some downright wacky storylines for a team under 15 games in the year – a veteran like Danny Green having to play 49 minutes in overtime against an eight-man squad is hard to understand until you see him play. . outside.
In a strange way, this created a league-wide support system for Rivers unlike anything he has experienced in the past. Conversations between rival coaches have increased this year, Rivers says, with people in the league trying to figure out what constitutes a normal way of running a basketball team. One specific example: Coaches debated whether it was still a good idea to hold shootarounds given the peak of positive tests, weighing the idea of just showing up for the game and letting the chips drop there. where they could.
Mental tension is a whole different challenge, as the Sixers learned over the weekend. They were all set to play Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and spoke up for warm-ups before quickly disappearing into the bowels of the arena once the league got the word out about the postponement. Second-year forward Matisse Thybulle called it “madness” on Tuesday, but the fact remains that every person must try to cope.
“Everyone tries to learn on the fly, and we just adapt to things as they happen to us,” Thybulle said. you just have to face what you have at that time. I think we’ve done a really good job of working through these struggles that we’ve had so far and I think the league is working on it and just putting more parameters to try to protect players and staff. “
“It’s kinda crazy how busy our schedule is. There’s no room for workouts unless you take days away and I feel like it’s a hard thing for coaches and they have to struggle with it’s like, we give them a rest because they’re about to play four games in seven days, or do we [practice]? And I think today was a really great opportunity to come out and get better honestly, to feel each other and start to tighten up some things. It’s like jeans, you wear them a few times, you start to loosen, put them back in the washer and tighten them. “
Whether washing denim turns out to be a relevant comparison to navigate this season remains to be seen.
Other Notes
• While he looks certain to miss Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics, sources have insisted Seth Curry is set to return for Philadelphia, with some optimism he will be back at a given time this week. Having already tested positive, Curry must clear the league’s health and safety protocol, which includes the following requirements before players can return:
- Any player who tests positive has two paths back: going 10 days or more after the first positive test or symptom onset, or testing negative twice via a PC test at least 24 hours apart.
- Any player who tests positive will not be allowed to exercise for a minimum of 10 days, and after 10 days, they will need to be monitored for two days of individual training before being allowed.
From what I understood, Monday night Curry still needed to get through the two days of supervised individual training. I wouldn’t start getting him back into the lineup just yet, but I think he’s close.
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