The Philadelphia 76ers are officially getting back in the swing of things as they have completely gone at it in practice so far. They have made a few different tweaks to the lineup as it appears that Shake Milton will take over the starting point guard role and Ben Simmons will be moved over to the power forward spot.
Due to those changes, the Sixers have been going all in at practice to begin the resumption in Orlando. Coach Brett Brown has been pleased with the team’s conditioning so far and that has allowed him to ramp up the team’s workload and have them ready for the restart.
“I like how we designed the first two days of practice,” Brown began. “It was done with the mindset that we want to ramp things up, not just come in all excited and kill them. I believe the first two practices from a loading perspective and some static stuff where you can teach and slow down and it’s not crazy in relation to just cardio work at the start has been wise.”
Brown mentioned during the league suspension that he did not want the Sixers to use the pandemic as an excuse to not be ready for this restart. The team has done an excellent job in terms of their fitness base and that has allowed Brown and his staff to go full tilt and all in on these practices.
“I think it’s been well designed and today (Monday) will be a day that there will be more teaching, but the health of our team is excellent. The fitness base is the most surprising. They’ve responded completely to the challenge I gave them.”
The players on the Sixers roster have also agreed that this has been a good start to practice for the resumption.
“It’s definitely been very competitive, back-and-forth like coach said,” added Mike Scott. “Everyone’s came in in shape and it’s been great. Jo’s (Joel Embiid) been playing great, I try to double him, make it hard for him, foul him when I can. It hasn’t been working. Like coach said, it’s definitely been impressive.
There was one minor hiccup as the team decided to hold out Glenn Robinson III for a little bit, but Brown did add that it was not anything bad.
“Glenn Robinson, we’re going to slow down a little bit with, it’s nothing dramatic at all,” Brown explained.
Later, it was revealed that he has back discomfort and he has received treatment.
Glenn Robinson III received treatment this morning for discomfort in his upper back and is a full participant at today's practice. I'm told the forward even displayed an athletic dunk during today's practice. #Sixers
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) July 13, 2020
This is a good start for Philadelphia as they get back into the grind and the challenge of having to get back into the mindset of chasing a championship. [lawrence-related id=34553,34545,34386]