CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers convened for practice on Thursday to continue their playoff preparation for their first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets. These playoffs give the impression of being a very important one for the franchise.
This is the first full season with Joel Embiid and James Harden. The franchise made moves in the offseason and at the deadline to add more playoff-ready guys, and it appears that this is their best shot at a title.
However, the Sixers have not made it past the conference semifinals during the Embiid era, and coach Doc Rivers has been at the helm in the previous two semifinal ousters. There is pressure this time to at least get past the second round, but Rivers focuses on winning the title.
“Yeah, that’s local pressure. You know?” Rivers said on Thursday. “That’s everyone. I’m a Bears fan, right? And I’m using that as an example. The Bears haven’t gone to the Super Bowl in a long time, but the rookie on the Bears didn’t feel that pressure is the point I’m making. Jalen McDaniels has been here for four months (two months). He doesn’t feel that. He feels like he’s on the team that can win a title. So that’s not what we’re thinking that’s what you guys think and I get that. I get that from the fans, but that’s not the team’s pressure.”
Despite not focusing on the second-round pressure, Rivers acknowledges the pressure to win a title is there.
“It’s always pressure,” he added. “Don’t get me wrong. We should feel pressure, right? If you have a goal that is like ours, if you don’t feel pressure, then you’re probably an alien, but there’s always pressure. It’s not like we’re thinking ‘Oh, let’s get out of the second’. No. Let’s win it. you know what I’m saying?”
The Sixers have high aspirations for the 2023 postseason. The goal is winning a title. The franchise hasn’t done that since 1983.
“If you set a high goal for yourself, there’s not a person alive that can say there’s no pressure to that,” said Rivers. “It should be and we talked about that. Embrace it. Like this is a good thing. You have played yourself on a team that has pressure because I can name a bunch of teams that have no pressure. You know where you’re at right now? Golfing, on the beach, they are! And that’s a fact. So when you’re on a team that is in the playoffs, and when you’re on a team that has a chance to go forward, there’s pressure to that and there should be. We have to accept that.”
Regarding potential offseason changes if the Sixers fail to win a title, Rivers brought up the 2021 playoff series between the Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks. If Kevin Durant’s foot in Game 7 is an inch behind the 3-point line, the Nets win that series, the Bucks likely fire coach Mike Budenholzer and history is changed.
In short, Rivers isn’t worried about changes despite JJ Redick suggesting there will be changes if the Sixers don’t win.
“I don’t, but you guys do,” Rivers finished. “I’ve always said that, not just for me, I’m saying up front. I think that’s the dumbest thing in the world. OK, you don’t make it to the finals. So let’s blow the whole team up. I use this as an example, and it’s a great example, if Kevin Durant’s foot is one inch back, they change coaches. What a dumb thing that would have been.”
Game 1 with the Nets is Saturday.
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