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With the Philadelphia 76ers‘ playoff run starting against the Brooklyn Nets on April 15, head coach Doc Rivers talked about the difference between the regular season and the playoffs. Most notably, how teams can’t get away with playing what he calls “one-way guys.”
While talking with Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Rivers explained how Sixers forward and midseason acquisition Jalen McDaniels was the Sixers’ last piece because he wasn’t one of these “one-way guys.”
“The last piece was getting Jalen,” Rivers said. “The regular season and playoffs are so different. You can get away with the one-way guys all year, all regular season.
“Then the playoffs come, and then those guys that can just score or can just defend, they get put on an island and it’s hard for them. It’s hard for the coach. You have to play them in the right space with the right people. It takes a lot of thought into putting one-way guys on the floor.”
Rivers added that wings like McDaniels and De’Anthony Melton are useful in the playoffs because they are good players on both sides of the floor.
“They can give you both,” he said, “and the more that you have, the better your basketball team is. And I think we’ve accomplished that overall.”
In 24 games with the Sixers, McDaniels is averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 48.8% from the field and 40% from three.
Jalen McDaniels Getting Ready For First Playoff Experience
McDaniels started his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets in 2019. In his first three years in the league, the Hornets did not make the playoffs. Now that he’s with the Sixers, McDaniels will make his playoff debut, which he gave his thoughts on April 7 after the Sixers beat the Atlanta Hawks.
“This is my first playoff experience,” McDaniels told reporters, per Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “So I’m just gonna do me. Just go out there and play hard. Play the right way and try to move on.”
McDaniels also talked about his comfortability with the team since being acquired at the NBA Trade Deadline.
“Just getting comfortable with time,” he finished. “Now, I feel like myself just out there doing what I do. As to where I first got here, I was a little timid, I didn’t know where to go, stuff like that, but now I’m good. I know my role, I know what to do, so it’s solid.”
Doc Rivers Praises Nets Following Midseason Trades
After the Sixers beat the Nets on April 9, Rivers gave the Nets succinct praise for how well they managed after trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline.
“They’re a good team,” Rivers said during his postgame press conference. “They didn’t lose much ground once they lost all their guys. They kept playing well and winning, so, we’ll have to be ready.”
The Nets went from the no. 5 seed to the no. 6 seed after trading Durant and Irving, with the New York Knicks being the only team who surpassed them in the standings, though they could very well not have as high of a seed next season.
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