Sixers’ competitiveness and talent level, good or bad, will be on display during seeding games | Off the Dribble
The Sixers had a solid first day of practice during their preseason training camp in the fall and went on to underachieve before the NBA shutdown.
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Happy Monday, folks!
Let’s make this a great day, and a super week. We’re 19 days away from seeing the 76ers open up the NBA restart against the Indiana Pacers. You just don’t know how happy I am to be back on the grind of covering hoops.
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— Keith Pompey (offthedribble@inquirer.com)
We’ll learn a lot come August
One of the top storylines coming out of the 76ers’ training camp Sunday morning was about how competitive things were Saturday during their first day of training camp.
“I have 15 people, so a lot of what I was doing was five-on-five-on-five,” coach Brett Brown said. “We call it cut-through.”
Brown then spoke of another drill he calls play-run-run. The seventh-year coach talked about transforming the simple environment inside the Walt Disney World’s campus into a competitive space.
“The guys were fantastic,” he said.
While that sounds good and might be true, it’s no different than what some Sixers said following their first training-camp practice back in September. Back then, it didn’t take long for us to realize they had chemistry issues and were overhyped. The team that was among the favorites to win the NBA title is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-26 record.
So we’ll get a better idea of the Sixers’ competitiveness and if they’ve improved during next month’s seeding games and in the playoffs.
Brown knows that. So do his players and general manager Elton Brand.
Arguably the NBA’s best center, Joel Embiid is expected to dominate Sixers practices. Two-time All-Star point guard Ben Simmons is supposed to be a matchup problem even though he’s coming off a back injury. Guys are supposed to get after it, especially when they’re all well-rested.
Al Horford will tell you it seems like a completely new season.
The post player said the team is learning things all over. He thinks that’s a positive for the group.
“We’re fully healthy, No. 1,” Horford said. ”Then second, we have guys that at the trade deadline came through, Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson.
“For them to get this from the beginning, and get this time, I think it’s going to be very good.”
We’ll find out how good in the playoffs.
Starting Five
Tobias Harris is key to keeping the Sixers together this summer. Embiid and Simmons are the Sixers’ best players. Yet, Harris is the unquestioned leader.
Sixers to bring Ben Simmons along slowly in scrimmages. In other news, Ryan Broekhoff did not travel with the team for the NBA restart as his high-risk wife battles COVID-19.
Sixers clear NBA Disney World quarantine, Glenn Robinson III happy to be back on the court. Marc Narducci writes about the steps the team took to return to the court.
Sixers determined to use NBA restart platform to make a stand against racism. Josh Richardson said: “I think we need to keep the focus on what’s important and that’s the social climate right now and inequities that’s been happening for African-Americans for so long that needs to be spoken about.”
Sixers podcast: Should we remain optimistic about the NBA restart? Pompey and Heart Of Sports 610 ESPN co-host Jeff Cohen ponder if the NBA restart will be a success. They each have a different spin. They also debate Jamal Crawford’s signing with the Brooklyn Nets and discuss Embiid’s comments about knowing he can carry the team.
Redick shotguns a Bud Light
JJ Redick came through.
The New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard and former Sixer accepted a challenge Saturday on Twitter. Someone tweeting from the handle @NBABubbleLife asked Redick how many retweets he would get for a video of him shotgunning a Bud Light.
Redick, who was playing golf, responded, “Inclement weather shut us down on 14. 10,000 retweets by tomorrow at 5 p.m. and I will shotgun a BL during tomorrow’s round.”
Well, he surpassed that number of retweets and posted a video of himself shotgunning a can of Bud Light while soaking in a tub of ice.
Who said life in the bubble isn’t entertaining?
Important Dates:
July 24: Sixers vs. Memphis Grizzlies (scrimmage) at The Arena, 3:30 p.m.
July 26: Sixers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (scrimmage) at HP Fieldhouse, noon
July 28: Sixers vs. Dallas Mavericks (scrimmage) at HP Fieldhouse, 8:30 p.m.
Aug. 1: Sixers vs. Indiana Pacers at Visa Athletic Center, 7 p.m.
Aug. 3: San Antonio Spurs vs. Sixers at Visa Athletic Center, 8 p.m.
All of the events are at Walt Disney World.
Passing the Rock
Send questions by email or on Twitter (@PompeyOnSixers)
Question: Will all the Sixers games be televised either or national TV or league pass? — @malteseluv1 on Twitter
Answer: Thanks for the question. Four of the Sixers’ eight seeding games will be broadcast on national TV. NBC Sports Philadelphia also is trying to put together a schedule to air some of the games. If that happens, one has to assume the NBC Sports Philadelphia games will air on NBA League Pass.