The Philadelphia 76ers began training camp on Tuesday as they get set to prepare for the 2020-21 season with a new coach, a new roster, and a new sense of optimism.
The main reasons for that optimism are stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid who are two of the top players in this league and they do plenty of things on the basketball court.
Of course, the two of them have their shortcomings. Simmons has yet to show any resemblance of a jump shot and Embiid’s conditioning has been called into question on plenty of occasions.
Coach Doc Rivers, however, is not concerned about Simmons’ jumper.
“I don’t care about Ben’s shooting as much as other people seem to care about it,” said Rivers bluntly. “I care that he’s a great player and I’m going to let him play. I’m going to give him the keys and let him be free and play. If he takes no shots, I’m fine. If he takes 10 threes, I’m fine. If he gets to the line 15 times, I’m fine. Ben is brilliant enough for me to allow to play and not get in his way and try and cloud his head up with a bunch of crap. It’s about winning and that’s what I want Ben to focus on. How to make each other better and win.”
With such a short training camp and only two preseason games before the season begins on Dec. 22 due to the global pandemic, Rivers is also focusing on conditioning. Maybe a nod towards Embiid.
“Conditioning, we have to get in shape,” he added. “Every player that says they want to win a championship, there are required things you have to do and one of them is conditioning. We’re going to get everybody in the best shape possible. With COVID, it makes it double tough.”
One thing that cannot be denied about the two of them is that they both are smart players and they show it on the floor. It seems that the two of them go for making the right play on an every-night basis.
“Ben singular and Joel singular are unbelievable basketball players and they’ve proven that,” the veteran coach said. “What they have to do is win. That’s why we’re all here, right? They haven’t won yet. They’re young, they have time, and I love what they both bring. The biggest thing, seeing them in the gym, is their IQ’s. They are both brilliantly smart basketball players and that really will help in our growth process as trying to win together. They can do it, they will do it. The yet is what we have to take away. I can’t tell you when that’s going to be, but it’s going to happen.”
Due to the nature of camp and preseason right now, there will be a lot of pressure on Rivers to get Simmons, Embiid, and the rest of the team up to speed. That is why early on, fans will likely see the team keep it simple on offense with a lot of pick-and-roll stuff to use their skills to the best of their ability. They can then make the best play from there.
“We’re going to be very careful on what we do so we don’t overthink this,” Rivers finished with. “I don’t want them out on the floor overthinking right now. I guarantee you’ll see more pick-and-rolls with Ben and Joel in them. We want to make sure because of this shortened preseason, shortened training camp, and quick first game that we don’t try and do too much. We want to make them as comfortable as possible.” [lawrence-related id=39669,39666,39660]