The Philadelphia 76ers have aspirations of chasing a championship in the 2021-22 season regardless of the result of the ongoing Ben Simmons situation. The Sixers are still working on everything as they continue to prepare for the upcoming season.
As Philadelphia continues with their preseason schedule on Thursday against the Toronto Raptors, the team will be looking to see what they have in some of their younger players.
Most notably Isaiah Joe who had 18 points while knocking down four of his eight attempts from deep in Monday’s loss to Toronto. He also had three rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes while making some really solid defensive plays out on the floor.
That is the type of effort that coach Doc Rivers wants to see more of from Joe. As the team got back to work at practice on Wednesday, he told his coaching staff that they have to find a way to get him more playing time.
“We got to get him on the floor more is what I keep telling our coaches because these 10 guys are playing so much that Isaiah did a good job,” said Rivers. “I told him, ‘I don’t care what unit you’re on, just keep going back and forth’ that he’s got to get on the floor more. I thought today, he did a good job of that. So, it’s good.”
At this stage of his career, Joe is continuing to try and get better as a player, which makes sense considering he is only in his second season. He showed off some real improvements in the summer league in terms of putting the ball on the floor and being a tougher player and now, he just has to be able to put it all together at the NBA level.
“I think for me, it is getting better,” Joe explained. “Getting better as an individual, getting better as a team player, being able to execute whenever I get in the game, being able to produce and be consistent. I think that’s one of my biggest things this year which is to be consistent so I can get out there on the court.”
Also, it does not hurt his case to battle for more minutes. These are his teammates, of course, but the young man out of Arkansas also wants to battle with them to get more time out on the floor.
“Most definitely fighting for more minutes,” said Joe. “I think a lot of us are fighting for minutes. Nothing’s guaranteed in this league so each year you got to prove yourself. You got to get better and show that you can be productive on the court.”
Shake Milton, who is entering his fourth season with the team, has begun to notice the improvements Joe has made out on the floor.
“He’s done really well,” said Milton. “You can see he’s put on some weight. He’s using his voice now more, too and the only thing is I really talk about any time I see him come into the game or anything is I tell him to put them up. He knows his job and he knows what to do.”
#Sixers PG @SniperShake on what he’s seeing from @zai_joe1 in preseason practices: pic.twitter.com/rVcV4eidal
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) October 6, 2021
Rivers is big on players understanding their roles. They have to understand what they have to do out on the floor and that is going to be a big thing for Joe to comprehend as things go forward here.
“I’m gonna do what I do and I’m gonna shoot the ball and predicate a lot of my game on the defensive end,” Joe finished. “Showing that I can be versatile a lot of my game, showing that I’m not a liability on the defensive end. That’s one thing I’m really taking pride in.”
Joe and the Sixers take on the Raptors again on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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