Sixers head coach Doc Rivers often jokes that he’s not a real doctor when reporters ask him for injury updates. It’s funny, but there is also a shred of truth to it. He can’t diagnose a knee sprain. And he cannot get into the head of his players to see how they are feeling.
In the case of Joel Embiid, Rivers can only spit back what he sees on the court. On Wednesday, the 7-footer did some shooting on a side court but didn’t participate in an intra-squad scrimmage. He promised a “bigger evaluation” in a day or two.
“I think the bigger evaluation is in another day obviously,” Rivers said. “There’s no change in the last two or three days. I don’t have any updates.”
One thing helping Embiid’s recovery timeline is the Atlanta Hawks. Trae Young put on a shooting clinic in Game 5, erupting for 38 points in a 119-117 victory over the Boston Celtics. Their first-round series is heading for a Game 6 in Atlanta on Thursday, April 27 (with all apologies to Janet Jackson).
Rivers wouldn’t admit to having a rooting interest, although he was quick to acknowledge that extending it helped his ailing big man.
“Obviously extending this series does not hurt us,” Rivers said. “I feel like we’re getting iced out of the playoffs right now. This is a long time off, I will say that, but for Joel, it’s obviously a good thing.”
The Enforcer: P.J. Tucker Gets Angry at Sixers Practice
P.J. Tucker was brought to Philadelphia for his championship toughness and willingness to do the dirty work. He put it on display when he yelled at Paul Reed earlier in the postseason, then showed it again at Wednesday’s practice. Tucker, seeing what he considered sloppy play, got heated and let his teammates know it wasn’t good enough.
“Today he got angry at practice because it was sloppy and he went off,” Rivers said. “You know, nobody else did. And those are the things that people don’t see. There are so many things that are visible only to his team and that’s why you brought him here.”
Georges Niang was on the court when Tucker flipped his lid. He didn’t utter a disrespectful word or put up a fight. Yes, the Sixers were playing sloppy basketball, and corrections needed to be made. Which they were.
“It’s real easy to listen to P.J. because he knows what it takes,” Niang said, referring to Tucker’s NBA title. “I think the biggest thing is he knows the little things matter, so some may look at it like, ‘Hey, we have a week off. We can turn the ball over and toss the ball around.’
“But he’s the one who’s like no, we’re working on building habits that are going to pay off in the long run. P.J. is like, more or less, we need to devour the details, and win the little details so that when it does come time and we need that, we practiced that over and over.”
Tyrese Maxey Itching to Get Back Out There
The Sixers haven’t played a game against non-teammates since April 22 when they completed a first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets. Four full days have gone by which is an eternity in basketball. It’s nice to get the rest but some guys, namely Tyrese Maxey, are itching to get back out there and hoop.
“Downtime is great. We can get our bodies back right but I’m a competitor so I want to play,” Maxey said “Even if we get to play a little bit out there, play against each other, 1-on-1 or 5-on-5, or just doing shooting drills. That keeps us fresh. Keeps us competitive.”
Rivers put the team through a scrimmage on Wednesday as a way to keep their conditioning up and, hopefully, stir their competitive juices. He doesn’t care who they see in the next round, but all this waiting around can sometimes disrupt a team’s rhythm and flow.
“Just trying to keep our guys as sharp as possible, it’s not easy,” Rivers said. “If we want to do what we want to do, it’s going to be hard. I told our guys that, I could care less [about who we play], let’s just bring it on.”
Photo by Sport Press Photo/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
