The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that is looking to move on from a tough 2019-20 season. The team was riddled with injuries, they had an awkward roster, and the team was not able to get on the same page.
One guy who had a tough season was Mike Scott. The Philadelphia fan favorite’s numbers were down across the board and he also was dealing with an injury when the team entered the bubble in Orlando for the restart which then motivated him to lose some weight for the 2020-21 season.
The weight loss has been beneficial in training camp so far as he has caught the eye of coach Doc Rivers.
“Mike Scott has had a phenomenal training camp. Not a good one, a phenomenal one,” Rivers said. “I am really happy for him. I think he knows what I am looking for out of him. You can see he has come in very comfortable, I would say that would be the word. He has been great.”
Scott played for Rivers during his short time with the Los Angeles Clippers and he averaged 4.8 points and shot 39.1% from deep in 14.4 minutes per game in 52 games before being sent to Philadelphia. He also committed 4.2 fouls per 36 minutes under Rivers and that is a number he wants Scott to lower as well as shoot the ball when open.
“To shoot the ball, be solid, play defense,” Rivers said of Scott. “I thought he fouled a lot, play defense better without fouling. More importantly, just be really solid on offense. I want him to look for that shot, don’t hesitate, be aggressive, be a mover or pick setter, and a popper and a roller and he’s doing all those things. You can clearly from day one, you can tell he kind of studied what I did before with him, and he’s got it. He’s been great.”
Scott shot only 36.9% from deep in the 2019-20 season and he knows he can do better. He also acknowledged that he must be better on defense than he was before. Now, that he has another shot with Rivers, he cannot waste it.
“I just didn’t play well,” he acknowledged. “Just being active, not fouling, and moving my feet more, staying low, showing my hands. I think every now and then you do need to let somebody know you’re there, hard foul every now and then. I know that’s probably getting away from the NBA, but I feel like that is needed at points on, but at the end of the day, we’re here to play basketball and play the right way. Less fouls, move your feet on D, I feel like sometimes fouling could be tiredness or laziness. So getting away from that and staying solid, just doing your job.”
Scott will be looking to get back in the rotation and make an impact on this team as they head into the 2020-21 season beginning on Dec. 23.
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