Doc Rivers explains what Sixers must do in order to start winning games
The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a tough start to the 2022-23 season as they dropped to 1-4 on Wednesday after a 119-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors to begin a 4-game road trip. The loss brought up some familiar issues as the Sixers continue to try and find their way.
Philadelphia once again struggled in transition defense as the Raptors made it look easy with their offense and they were able to knock down 16 triples in their win. The Sixers also played slowly again as they had trouble really getting into their offensive sets at an efficient pace.
As they prepare for another matchup with the Raptors on Friday, coach Doc Rivers still believes the Sixers can win games, but things need to start changing for his team.
“I think we can win games, but we’re not gonna win multiple games until we play right every night,” Rivers told reporters. “Until we do the right things and get in the right habits. Play at the right pace, spread the floor, move the ball, share the ball. I thought Joel (Embiid) had a clear advantage. I thought we didn’t get him the ball four or five times early in the game. Every time he touched it, something good happened.”
The Sixers got excellent production out of Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and James Harden as well as De’Anthony Melton, but not much from anybody else. In order to get back on track, they will have to figure things out because there is too much talent on the roster to be 1-4.
“So we’ll see that and we’re going to be better at that for sure as the season goes on, but in the meantime, you still should be able to sneak out wins and win games with your effort,” Rivers added. “I thought they had far more energy than us tonight.”
As the Sixers prepare for a rematch with the Raptors, Rivers acknowledged that Philadelphia did defeat Toronto in the playoffs and they wanted to get some payback. Now that the Sixers have been knocked down, he expects a better effort from his team on Friday.
“Now, we will be the one,” he finished. “We lost. They kicked our butt. They’re more physical and so we’ll see how we come out.”
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire
Source: Yahoo Sports
