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The Philadelphia 76ers had themselves a tough 2019-20 season, coming up short in every way possible. The team expected to compete for a title, but it could not figure out the roster and was swept in the first round of the playoffs.
That is enough to create something to prove for the upcoming season. Even with additions arriving and stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid returning, there are many doubters, and the Sixers need to come in and prove people wrong.
“There’s optimism and optimism is a powerful thing,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We have to have that. I want our guys to dream big, I’ll tell you that I’ve been talking about that individually to them. We have to get a lot right; we’re good. I want them to feel like they’re good, and I hope they have something to prove, we all do.”
It comes with the territory of being in their situation. The team did not win, so players have to come in and prove to everybody the previous season was a fluke and it will not repeat. That is the truth for 29 of the 30 teams who did not win the title.
“Every year, there’s one team that comes back with very little to prove; this year it is the Lakers,” he added. “Every other team should have a chip on their shoulder, and they should want something to prove and then we’re one of them.”
One of the team’s new additions, Seth Curry, is ready to see what the team can do. As the Sixers convened for their first group practice of training camp, Curry noticed the message from Rivers was about bringing the right attitude to the table.
“It has to be the right attitude, that’s one of the things he stressed,” Curry said. “Early on in practice, guys need to bring the right attitude to the table every day as far as working hard, sacrifice a little bit of themselves because this team has an opportunity to win the East and win the championship. Not every team, honestly, comes into camp with that attitude that we can win a championship and we’re actually one of those teams.”
Philadelphia will definitely be one of those teams in the mix to win a championship. They have the talent to do so, but they need to put the work in to make the right strides to move forward. They will battle some talented teams in the East, and they will have to work even harder than before to turn that optimism into something real and substantial.
“That optimism has to show every day,” Curry said. “We have a chance to win it all. You can’t skip any steps throughout the process if you want to get to the end of the season and be the last one standing.”
The team’s title quest will begin on Dec. 23 at home against the Washington Wizards.
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