Defensive struggles have Rivers concerned
Doc Rivers scanned the boxscore from the Sixers’ 120-111 loss Saturday in Phoenix, looking for a number that he anticipated, yet prepared anyway to be shocked. It wasn’t hard to find.
The number was 60.8, the shooting percentage for the Suns.
From there, the rest of the sheet hardly mattered.
“Offense is the last thing I am thinking about right now,” Rivers said. “An average team shouldn’t shoot 61 percent. This is a good team. We have to be better than that defensively.”
As it will happen, there were other reasons for the defeat, including choppy ball movement and inconsistent bench play. There was also the classic brilliance of Chris Paul, who scored 18 points and delivered 10 assists, plenty of the amazing variety.
Even with Ben Simmons playing solidly against him, developing Hall of Famer Devin Booker scored 36 points.
“I think overall, we didn’t get back in transition,” Simmons said. “That’s where it started. But they shot 61 percent. Too hot.”
The Sixers will head to Utah, where Monday they should show
heightened defensive motivation in a match between the first-place teams in each conference.
To Rivers, there is no other answer.
“Uncontested dunks and uncontested threes are very difficult to give up,” he said. “And we gave up too many of them tonight.
“We’ve got to be better defensively.”
• • •
Shake Milton missed his second consecutive game with a sprained left ankle.
“My guess is he won’t play on this trip,” Rivers
said. “And that’s all we’ve got.”
Milton was injured late
in the Sixers’ 119-111 victory Tuesday in Sacramento, and did not play in Thursday’s loss at Portland.
• • •
Phoenix coach Monty Williams, a former Sixer, was an assistant to Brett Brown in 2018-2019. He believes that experience allowed him to land his second NBA head-coaching job.
“It was a chance to go to a team that was contending for a championship,” said Williams, who coached New Orleans from 2010 through 2013. “You just don’t get those opportunities. Brett gave me a ton of responsibility. The relationships I forged throughout the organization were
strong.
“The area I lived in, out in Jersey, was something I didn’t anticipate enjoying as much as I did. I loved it there. When I played there I stayed in Pennsylvania and I was dealing with traffic. It was a lot. Then I had that experience and I was blown away. I had no idea I’d have that much fun.
“Brett really helped me to shape the view basketball and the way we’ve built our program here. Because if you’ve been around Brett, you know he thinks differently. And that really helped me a ton.”
Williams played for the Sixers in 2002-2003.
• • • Noteworthy more than
ever this season, the Suns were at full capacity. No one was injured. No one was under health protocols. There was no load management.
Perfect attendance. “It’s what you hope for,” Williams said. “It’s a rarity in this day and age. Not many teams have that opportunity. So we’re grateful.”
Former Sixer Dario Saric, who had been dealing with a sprained ankle, played for the first time in 14 games and scored 15 points in 20 minutes.
• • •
Dragged into the conversation, not volunteering it as an excuse, Rivers did share that he faced one
of the newer head-coaching decisions Saturday.
The game scheduled for a 1 p.m. tip in Phoenix, and with virus testing necessary up to four hours before the game, Rivers elected to pass on any pregame walkthrough.
“It was either that or another hour of sleep,” he said. “We chose sleep.”
Even with that treat, the Sixers had to be awake by 7 to provide sufficient time for the results to reach the arena before the game.
“That’s not normal for any team,” Rivers said. “But I assume Phoenix had to do the same thing. It’s just one of those things that we are all dealing with.”
Aries (March 21-April 19): Take whatever effort you planned to put in and times it by 10. That’s about what you deliver on the regular, because when it comes to the things you care about, going overboard seems like the most natural thing to do in the world.
Taurus (April 20-May 20): At the lower levels, there are penalties for going against the rules. It’s confusing to you, though, because it does seem that at the higher levels, the rules change entirely, if there are any at all.
Gemini (May 21-June 21): What to do with one another is not a logistical problem but a relational one. However, the right timing and atmosphere will be conducive to an easy feeling and good communication, both of which will contribute greatly to success.
Cancer (June 22-July 22): Commitments aren’t made out of laziness, but bad habits are. Pleasure and inaction are easily repeated until the pattern becomes a rut. You’ll decide to repeat the more difficult thing, and it’s a commitment that will stick.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): The amount of time and energy that go into asserting your control over an uncertain area of life is silly. There’s no guarantee that if you succeed, you’ll be secure. You can add hours to your life by simply accepting the uncertainty.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The problem can be solved quite simply, by cutting out that which is unnecessary. The simplicity and lightness of working without all the bells and whistles is not only effective; it’s so pleasurable it may become the new standard.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): The pursuit of knowledge is beneficial in that you’ll learn a ton of information, but it can also be an avoidance tactic because it’s less scary to read than it is to actually get in there and experience the thing.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): You’re focused on seeing a transaction start well and end well. This means prep work, showing up early, staying late, a wrap-up, and a reflection to understand what worked and what didn’t and plan the next approach.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You do the correct thing, do the fun thing, add the extra charm, put your spin on it... because you never do know when you’re doing something that the other person will remember far into the future.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Talk to friends about what you’re afraid of. When you share your fear with someone who gets it, you go a long way toward relieving the sort of pressure that tends to blow fears out of proportion.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You take responsibility for what happens to you, not because it’s all directly in your control — much of it isn’t — but because it helps you to see where your points of leverage and control are so you can seize them when you can.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): Your mind will churn out rationalizations to keep you impeccable, but you recognize that it’s a trick. No one is impeccable, and it’s human nature to avoid the vulnerability that comes from being wrong.