Doc Rivers didn’t need to reinvent the way the Philadelphia 76ers prepared for a do-or-die Game 7 against the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.
He did, however, envision a different way for his team to comprehend the message he was trying to convey, and according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Noah Levick, Rivers got his point across.
After the Sixers’ practice on Saturday, Rivers explained to Levick the approach he used when he cut game clips for the film session.
“The first film (clip) today was — I don’t know how long it took — 45 seconds of missed shots with no sound, nobody talking. And I just showed it. I didn’t say a word, I just showed it,” Rivers said per Levick. “And then I turned it off and everybody was like, ‘Holy goodness.’ … And so I finally turned around and I said, ‘What do you guys see?’ And they were like, ‘We’re good.’ That was the first thing that someone said: ‘We’re good.'”
The missed shots were not of the Celtics, but rather Philly’s own misses — the Sixers were 6-for-26 from the field when the shooter was left wide open by the defender the Game 6 Boston win.
“It was probably our highest shot quality of the year and we just didn’t make anything,” Rivers said
The Sixers know they didn’t simply lose the game because of those missed shots; they recognize the Celtics’ double-big lineup of Al Horford and Robert Williams III was a key factor to Boston’s success in Game 6 as Levick wrote:
While Rivers again chalked much of that up to his team’s unfortunately wayward jump shooting, Williams’ presence in the paint tends to be impactful. An NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection last year, Williams has a 7-foot-6 wingspan. He’s a nimble, high-leaping, instinctive shot blocker. You can’t drive into the lane and pretend he’s not there.
The Sixers will need to make adjustments, including NBA MVP Joel Embiid being more aggressive in shooting, if they hope to defeat Boston at home.
Tipoff from the win-or-go-home matchup at TD Garden is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET
