The 2020-21 season has been a tough one for everybody involved. Games are coming at a rapid pace and there has been testing every day in order to keep everybody safe as the league looks to navigate a season through the murky waters of the global pandemic.
The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at the top of the East heading into a much-needed All-Star break led by a new coach in Doc Rivers as well as their star duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. They are also getting help from veterans such as Dwight Howard and Danny Green who went deep into the bubble in 2020.
Howard, for one, is looking forward to being able to relax a bit since he had to go so deep into the bubble with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is also ready for the second half of the season for Philadelphia in what can be a deep playoff run come May and June.
“I know I need a break,” Howard said with a smile. “I haven’t had a break since last season so this first time I got a couple days to really just sit back, but I think all of us are excited for the second half of the season. We do need to recharge our batteries, get our bodies right, and our minds right, get ready for the second half of the season because this is our time. We feel like we have a very good opportunity to win a championship this year.”
As for Rivers, he still has an obligation to coach Team Durant in the All-Star game on Sunday, but he also gets to relax a bit and get away from work.
“You get a break still,” he explained. “It’s still four or five days where there’s no practice, you get a chance to kind of evaluate what your team is doing, what you need to improve on. You exchange a lot of notes with your assistants during the break, but it’s still a break. I’m really looking forward to it.”
At the end of the day, Rivers will still be getting the Sixers ready to get after it in the second half of the season. This team has a big chance to achieve the goals that they set out with the talented roster they’ve assembled.
“We don’t relax a lot,” Rivers finished. “Most coaches, at least me, even if I went somewhere, I would still go golf and then by 5 pm.., I’m back to film. You start right back at it mentally.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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