Rivers wants Embiid and Simmons to remain close

PHILADELPHIA » A short offseason preceded a shorter training camp and flowed into the shortest of NBA preseasons.

That was plenty of time for Doc Rivers to draw a conclusion about his first 76ers’ team: It will go nowhere without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons pulling in the same direction.

Not that a rift between the All-Stars was ever proven, but there have long been strong whispers that their relationship never extended past professional. As recently as Tuesday, there was even a report that Embiid did not want the Sixers to hire Tyronn Lue as their head coach, for Lue and Simmons shared an agent.

Embiid denied the report. But Rivers has acknowledged that he will endeavor to draw his two most visible players closer. Recently, he encouraged them to do an ESPN interview together.

“They’re going to do a lot of things together,”

Rivers said. “Get used to it. Get used to playing together. Get used to running pick-and-rolls together. Get used to celebrating together. Get used to doing an interview together.”

With that, the actions-words effect had been set: Whether he or anyone else around the Sixers felt it necessary, Rivers’ effort to draw Embiid and Simmons closer was real, not imagined.

“They are going to be tied at the hip,” Rivers said. “So I think any time they can do (an interview) together, it is good. We do live in a world where everything is usually individual interviews. And I won’t encourage it with just those two guys. I will do it, for example, with Shake (Milton) and Furkan (Korkmaz).

“It would be nice for them to do interviews together.”

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Not that it was a surprise that the 21st overall pick in the draft would win a roster spot, but Tyrese Maxey was thankful for the opportunity to play in an NBA game.

“Everything you see in the game time, I put in the work in the dark, so it will come to the light,” he said Wednesday, after a morning walk-through. “So I am ready and I am prepared.”

Maxey played in both preseason games, scoring 19 points in 29 minutes. He realized he would only have one chance to play in his first NBA game. Strong training camp aside, Maxey did not bring unreasonable expectations into his debut.

“I’m just going to try to stay ready for whenever my name is called,” he said. “And I will cheer my teammates on from the bench. I will be the biggest cheerleader when I am not out there. And at the end of the day, as long as we get the W, that’s all that matters.”

Maxey entered the game with 1:07 left in the first quarter, and before the quarter was up, had a bucket, a rebound and an assist.

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Wizards coach Scott Brooks roomed with Charles Barkley when they were 76ers. So, no, he wasn’t surprised when Barkley put him on the spot, recently guaranteeing that Washington would make the playoffs.

“That was funny,” he said. “He’s the best. I’ll tell you what: He’s guaranteed a lot and it very rarely comes through. But my job is to pay back my roommate; he didn’t charge me rent for two months. Hopefully, we can have a big year and make the playoffs. But I like our chances. And I hope that Charles is right on that.”

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Though there were no fans in the Wells Fargo Center to see his first NBA game, highly touted rookie Deni Avdija was assured by Brooks that it was not necessarily a bad thing.

“I just said, ‘Count yourself lucky that you don’t have to go out there with Philadelphia fans in the stands,’” Brooks said, kiddingly. “I played here two years and they are awesome. They get into the game and they let you have it.”

The 19-year-old from Israel was the ninth player taken in the draft.

“He plays with a passion,” Brooks said. “He plays with a determination that I like.”