Don’t watch now, but the Sixers are less than a week away from their first regular season game of 2020-21, a Friday night tune-up with the Indiana Pacers, the last to stand between Philadelphia and actual basketball. It’s hard to tell if they are ready or not based on evidence from just one game, but they will have to do it anyway.
You’ve already seen the new starters and the banking group is starting to take shape. To let Doc Rivers tell you, Philadelphia has arranged almost the entire expected 10 man rotation, with little mystery as to how they will line up on opening night against Washington.
“I have a good feeling,” Rivers said on Thursday. ‘At least for four [players]I can certainly tell you that in your mind. But I’m just looking for them to play well, play together and play their own way when all five of them are on the floor. They won’t be able to play like Joel and Ben and play that group because they don’t have Joel and Ben on their team. So they have to play a little bit differently, and then they have to figure out what that identity looks like.
‘You’ll work it out, I guarantee you. In the end you will [figure it out], I mean, if you keep seeing that same group. “
Immediately your mind wanders to who the four players are with locked spots behind the starters. There are three that are without a doubt on my mind: Shake Milton, Dwight Howard and Furkan Korkmaz. The first two should be clear, and while some fans will be hesitant about Korkmaz’s inclusion, his name has come into a positive light throughout camp, no surprise given Rivers’ affinity for motion shooters.
Matisse Thybulle’s place in that group feels less certain than you might think. The sophomore wing didn’t check into the game until 1:27 took off in the first quarter on Tuesday, specifically the last man to fill in to complete Philadelphia’s all-bench lineup. Mike Scott, who talked to Rivers during camp, came into play for Thybulle and checked slightly after Thybulle in the second quarter. If that seems like you’re overly scrutinizing a preseason half, you sure are, but it’s the only data point we have, and the Sixers are taking these preseason games pretty seriously now that the season is kicking off so quickly.
Rivers, like many coaches in the league, relies heavily on veterans, sometimes at the expense of developing a young player on the bench. With the head coach expressing a desire this preseason to get gunners on the ground over and over again, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him leaning towards the veteran with a significantly longer track record from deep, Thybulle’s defensive powers.
That would leave us with a fascinating battle for the final rotation spot, a style clash between Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey, the rookie guard who impressed in his debut against Boston. On the one hand, you have the taller and more dynamic defender, the guy who can cause quick interruptions with his betting manners, but a limited defender who struggled on Tuesday. Maxey is smaller and has his own questions to answer as a shooter, but he’s a stubborn attack point defender and one of the smoothest operators on the ball they have.
Whether that’s the fight we’re ending with or not, the head coach isn’t giving his hand just yet – Rivers tried to be as vague as possible about what he wanted from the last player in that five-man group.
“Shooting is really important. Defense is important. Who can join the team.” [concepts] and do the stuff the best you can, ”Rivers said Thursday. I mean, there are a lot of little things. We may need more size. We will see. In practice, we run out of many groups, so we get a judge for that. And tomorrow we’ll try to lead a lot of different groups with that group. “
This conundrum well reflects the group that the Sixers have assembled this year. Rookies have usually been able to have an immediate impact (or at least hit the floor) in recent years due to an odd balance in the roster. Heading into 2020-21, the Sixers have a solid top five, natural sixth man and backup center, same shooter off the bench and good competition for ninth and tenth places, flexibility to change things up depending on how Rivers wants to play it. We’re looking at a situation where it’s plausible that one of their two most recent first-lap picks could be riding the pines to start the year.
If it’s Maxey starting the year, it won’t be due to a lack of appreciation from his teammates. The rest of the group has raved about the young guard since he arrived at the camp, his desire to help the team always shines through. That includes, Dwight Howard told reporters on Thursday, in the heat of their first game against Boston.
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“When he first came into play I thought maybe he was moving a little too fast and they were putting a lot of pressure on him. So when there was a time out I pulled him a little bit aside and said to him: “Hey, just slow down. It’s okay to be quick, but don’t be in a hurry. Don’t let the defense dictate where they want you to go,” Howard said Thursday. “And he went back out, slowed down. , started making plays, got some floaters off, some good passes, made the attack go smoothly. I really like where his head is, he is very eager to learn. disciplined, he’s always in the gym working on his game. “
That’s what you want to hear about your rookie, and it coincides with a point Rivers made about the team’s camaraderie following Tuesday’s win over Boston – young players are an important part of setting the tone and culture for a team. If young guys want to listen, Rivers says it’s critical for a team that comes together.
If we hinder these early on, I think Maxey will be on the bench to start, but if he does, I don’t expect him to be out of the mix for long. They’ll get another chance on Friday to sort things out against a solid Pacers team, a group absorbing their own coaching change and shift in philosophy.
Keep a close eye on those first half rotations as they will tell us a lot about how this group fares for the regular season.
Other notes
• New acquisition Danny Green, a big favorite because this writer (at least on defense), apparently has quite a preseason on the defensive side of the floor.
“Danny Green was incredible,” Rivers said Thursday. “You would think a 1000 year old boy wouldn’t be that good, but he’s just so smart he helps.”
(Fact Check: Green is only a few years older than me, so I hope he doesn’t get pasture just yet. Of course my ankles would turn to papier-mâché if I tried to defend NBA players right now, but that’s a me problem, not an age problem.)
In any case, Rivers is also excited about the prospect of elite rim guards for 48 minutes a night, with Joel Embiid passing the baton to Dwight Howard, one of the league’s biggest rim guards who continues to defend himself at a high level. in its twilight years.
“If you look at our defense, and if you destroy our defense and you still have to score on Joel or Dwight, it makes it pretty difficult,” Rivers said. “And what we’re trying to encourage the guards is to have Joel and Dwight behind us so you can get closer to your man and be more aggressive.”
• Because of the first game of the preseasonRivers is pleased with how the Sixers fared when they play a free-flowing attack in transition, and acknowledges that they have more work to do on set plays. Expect it to be a focus point on Friday vs Indiana.
“I thought we performed what we call randomly – it’s kind of an organized, disorganized one that’s after misses – I thought we did great there because our distance was good and everyone was offensive and aggressive, ” said Rivers. “I thought when we ran our set things we were having a hard time, and that’s a clear sign of a team that hasn’t run.” that’s a lot and they don’t know all the little nuances of each set. We drilled that a ton today, we will drill it again tomorrow during the game. “
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