The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a win at home on Wednesday night to open the 2020-21 season and that turned out to be something familiar for the franchise. The team has always had success playing at Wells Fargo Center. It was 29-2 at home in the 2019-20 season before the pandemic forced it to play in a bubble, so Wednesday was nothing new.
The team now hits the road for two games beginning with the New York Knicks on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Road struggles were a big thing in the 2019-20 season; Philadelphia went just 10-24 on the road before the league suspension of play.
With new coach Doc Rivers leading the way, the Sixers are a team looking to get off on the right foot on the road. That means starting to build an identity.
“Well, the only way to get a road identity is by winning,” said Rivers. “We got to win games like this is what it is. Again, I’m watching these games, and I think you guys are watching all these games, too, it’s amazing. Some of the play is good, some is sloppy, you don’t know, but at the end of the day, you got to find a way to win the games. We have to go out on this road trip with that mindset. Let’s win two games.”
In order to get that done, the team will need stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to be at their best. The starters did not play all that great on Wednesday, and the team needed the bench to step up and play well.
The bench did so, and Furkan Korkmaz believes the team has the right talent and the depth to get the job done.
“I think we have enough talent,” Korkmaz said. “We have enough experience right now. When you get Ben, Joel and all the other guys that have experience in the league. I think as a team, you’re gonna need everyone.”
That’s something this team has not had in the past. Philadelphia has not had much production off the bench recently, and that is a difference in this year’s team at the start. They seem much deeper. and they have a lot of hope under Rivers. The idea now is to keep building as a team and coming together.
“Day by day, we’re gonna have a couple of players who score 20, 30, 40, whatever, but at the end of the day, we’re going to need everyone,” Korkmaz added. “I think right now, getting a good rhythm, as a team will help us become more together. I think that’s gonna be the cure for us.”
The Sixers will enjoy Christmas off to spend with their families before heading to Manhattan to take on a young Knicks team.
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