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Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was feeling under the weather and sat out the second preseason game for precautionary reasons. Don’t worry, no one is worried about his long-term health. He didn’t want to get everyone sick.
Rivers’ absence put assistant Dave Joerger in charge of leading the team on Wednesday night. It also left Joerger to face the media prior to tip-off against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 48-year-old coaching vet joked with reporters about lobbing “softball questions” at him, but he answered every query with great insight and thoughtful deliberation. Perhaps none better than the topic of Joel Embiid being underrated.
“I’ve coached against him as well. He’s a problem. He’s a big problem,” Joerger said. “I don’t think from the inner workings of the league, from people who coach against him, he is not underrated. But I’m not on social media. I’m not tweeting out Joel is a beast.”
Context is important. The initial question was in regard to Embiid being voted a distant third – behind Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo – in a recent survey of the NBA’s general managers asking which player would win the KIA MVP Trophy this season. Surprisingly, Embiid received only 14% of the vote. What gives?
“I can’t speak to that,” Joerger said. “I’m very partial, I thought he should have won it the past two years.”
Embiid Remains ‘Straw That Stirs the Drink’
The message being drilled into everyone’s brains is the chemistry between Embiid and James Harden. That duo, if they get the two-man game going, have the potential to be “unbeatable.” But the Sixers have firepower all over the court. It might be the first time that Embiid isn’t the only offensive weapon out there, not with Harden and the emergence of Tyrese Maxey.
“As they continue to play and spend time together, it’ll be even more and more potent,” Joerger said. “When does James go? When does Tyrese go? But Joel is the straw that stirs the drink. And so then you’re picking where can we go to attack him defensively. Hopefully we can make them pay in a lot of different areas, with a lot of different looks.
“And I think he also is maybe a little underrated as far as how much his passing has improved. He’s gotten better. Since I’ve been here, he’s gotten better. He had a nice week last week where he’s seeing guys, being able to make some of those passes, which only makes him better as a scorer as well.”
Sixers Roll Out Real Starting 5 vs. Cavaliers
The Sixers had a grueling, competitive training camp in South Carolina by all accounts. Their new toughness really took shape down there. Now it’s just a matter of getting into some game situations and meshing as a team.
That mission started on Wednesday night as the Sixers trotted out what will be their normal starting five: Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, P.J. Tucker. Time for the “rubber to meet the road,” per Joerger.
“The time on the practice court is invaluable but the rubber meets the road in the games and that’s where you got to grab onto each other,” Joerger said. “Coach [Rivers] talks about being a star in your role. Can you keep hunting shots when you’re the fourth or fifth best player on the court? Or will you be able to defer and get a stop? Or guard the other team’s best player? Or do the things that help the team succeed?”
Those questions will be answered in the coming days. The Sixers have two more preseason games before shipping up to Boston for the regular-season opener on October 18.
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