![]() NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete Prospective student-athlete questionnaire Student-athlete mental health and performance “Those are the guys that give you energy, that make you love coaching.Vanderbilt University Athletics - Official Athletics Website Open Menu He competes, he’s tough, but he loves it and he’s having fun doing it and his work ethic is contagious. You want them to stay in that happy zone. He continued: “Those type of guys, as a coach, you don’t want them to ever get spoiled, you don’t want them to ever change. Game when we lost to Miami, that last game he was down you could feel it.” “I think since he’s been here, he’s had two days where I can remember that he was emotionally down. “First of all, he’s never had a bad day,” Rivers said. Woj later brought up the rapid rise of Tyrese Maxey, who has already shown in preseason that a massive leap to his game could be well under way.Īs his coach, the infectious personality of Maxey and his hunger to improve every single day gives Rivers his own little energy boost on a daily basis. “What I saw this summer, if we can get that up to 75 percent efficiency, we will be very hard to beat, especially down the stretch in games.” “It was at 50 percent efficiency as far as I was concerned,” he said. The excitement for what a full season of the partnership can bring to the table is palpable, with Rivers admitting it wasn’t even close to as efficient as it could’ve been in the brief time they shared the court last season. In the 24 games Embiid and Harden played together, though, they quickly became the number one pick-and-roll duo in the entire league. Clearly, we have to find a way for them to win and both of them have to give up something to each other.” Joel has now been in the league for a while, has yet to win. “James has been in the league a long time, has yet to win. When you ask them to give up something, then that goes down to about 20 percent. “The old thing is you ask every player do they wanna win a championship, everyone is gonna say yes. ![]() “The number one thing is the want to part, the number two thing is the actual doing it part,” he said. Rivers acknowledged the difficulty that comes with getting players to buy into that idea, especially with players who have never won a title. In the era of super teams, the need for players to sacrifice something from their game for the greater good (a championship) is essential, although sometimes there is reluctance to the idea. “I always knew James was a good passer, you knew that but he was such a great scorer you didn’t see his ability to see the floor and play make.” “It was so brief, the communication part was hard because he ran in, then played and the season’s over,” Rivers said. The discussion continued to revolve around Harden, as well as his developing relationship with Joel Embiid.Īccording to Rivers, communicating with Harden and delivering the message of what type of role he expected out of the 33-year-old came with its bumps along the way. “Even though James is a superstar, and he is, you still gotta make sure that we’re all on the same page,” he added. “As coaches we have to sell the program, we have to sell what we need to do and we have to get ourselves to believe it.” “The fact that it did get out, it just showed the communication you have to have,” Rivers said. Rivers joked that he forgot he was live during that conversation, which provided a peak into how player-coach talks can go. How Rivers has had to evolve as a coach was also a main topic of discussion, with Woj bringing up the conversation he had with James Harden while mic’d up during a training camp practice. “That’s gonna force some type of mental toughness, so that’s been really good for us.” “Now all of a sudden, they’re looking around and there’s no guarantees on who’s gonna play. “We’re 12 deep, and the guys that have been here have always played, they’ve been comfortable.” Rivers said. The added competition for spots in the rotation helps with that, too. ![]() “They have to bring along the guys that don’t have it, that don’t know it, haven’t seen it.” “It doesn’t matter how many players you bring in that are gonna bring it,” he said, referring to the toughness aspect. Tucker, that improved the organization in that department.įor Rivers, it wasn’t just about adding players that have proven to carry that toughness with them, but whether or not those guys can bring it out in the others. Right off the jump, Woj questioned the Sixers leader on the all-too familiar subject of his team’s toughness, and the offseason signings, such as P.J. With the NBA regular season almost here, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers hopped on The Woj Pod with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski to discuss a wide range of topics ahead of what could be a promising season in Philly.
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