The Philadelphia 76ers head into what they hope will be a long playoff run beginning on Sunday. They enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the East with expectations of a big showing.
To deliver, they will need the players surrounding stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to play their roles. The Sixers brought in a number of pieces in the 2020 offseason to make things easier for their stars, and they will need them to step up.
One of those pieces is Seth Curry. He is one of the better shooters in the game, but it has been an up-and-down season. He tested positive for COVID-19 in January and that has affected his game and his endurance. He also has been held back by nagging injuries to his ankle and his hip.
With the team having a week off before the playoffs begin, he is happy to have time to heal.
“Time off has been good,” said Curry at practice on Tuesday. “I’ve kind of relaxed and give my body a few days to heal up, and then get back going hard to work today knowing we’ll have another day or whatever to kind of relax and be fresh. I feel good as a whole. My body is good enough to go and I’m just using this week to try to sharpen some skills and get in even better shape.”
When it comes to the issues with COVID-19, the lingering effects have been different for everybody. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum recently said he has been using an inhaler to help him breathe easier on the floor as the illness has hurt him in that area.
“Listening to what Jayson was saying, it’s kind of similar,” Curry explained. “It’s hard to explain. You feel a little bit differently as a whole and just the way I breathe at times, a little bit different. A little more fatigued, but I’m pretty much healthy.”
Despite his injury issues and COVID-19, Curry shot a blistering 45% from deep in his first season in Philadelphia while playing in 57 games.
“Coming back and just trying to work through it,” he finished. “Trying to be patient with myself. Hopefully, get back to all the way I was feeling before, but good enough to go and be back out on the floor so that’s the good part.”
The good news is, he practiced on Tuesday and is still preparing for the postseason. He and Matisse Thybulle were able to get work in.
“Everybody was available in practice,” said coach Doc Rivers. “That’s your update on Matisse. Everybody practiced and everybody was good.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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