The Philadelphia 76ers are beginning a new era on Wednesday as they get to usher in Doc Rivers and what he brings to the table. The hope is that with him leading the way and a new roster surrounding their star duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, they will take the next step in the Eastern Conference.
In order to do that, they will need Simmons and Embiid to take that next step as a duo. The team will go as far as the two will take them and that means coming together and doing everything together.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen to preview Philadelphia’s season on their end, Rivers urged the two of them to interview together. He did so in an effort to ensure that the two of them will be together the majority of the time.
“If they’re gonna win together, they’re gonna have to do a lot of things,” laughed Rivers. “Get used to it. Get used to playing together. Get used to run pick-and-rolls together. Get used to celebrating together, get used to doing an interview together, they’re going to be tied at the hip.”
This is a further example of a point that veteran Dwight Howard made when he was brought on. After playing a season with LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers, Howard saw how close the two of them were and he wanted the same for Simmons and Embiid. That is how chemistry is grown.
Rivers added that this won’t just be a Simmons and Embiid thing either. The coach wants this same type of relationship for other players on the team. For example, Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz, who will be the main backcourt off the bench.
“I think anytime they can do things together is good,” Rivers added. “We do live in a world where everything is usually individual interviews. I encourage that not only just with those two guys, but I’ll give you an example, Shake and Furkan. It will be nice for them to do interviews together. I just think it helps build our team.”
The Sixers will take on the Wizards at 7:00 p.m. EST from Wells Fargo Center as the team gets set to begin what they hope will be a successful season.
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