Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris has kicked off the 2020-21 NBA season. His shooting percentages are higher than last season, and he plays with greater confidence. He was recently recognized as the Player of the Week of the league thanks to his positive production. On the question that contributed to his warm start, Harris attributed the new coach, Doc Rivers, to the culture he cultivated in Philadelphia.
‘I think it’s more what [Doc] comes from the entire group, “Harris told media members after Philadelphia’s 118-101 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Monday night.” I’m the type of player that my game can fall in line with and whatever the coaches ask me, I can get by. What he asks of this team is to play the right way, move the basketball, play with each other, use your teammates, really be a collective group … The mentality and the attitude of playing together, as one play, do what we do can for the next man, make the right pass, go from good to great. Just that mentality for myself, personally for my game, it helps me to be in a stream and play better.
“It was something that was successful for my game. It was successful in LA with Doc. I would be selfish to say, ‘Hey, this is what Doc does for me.’ It’s more like ‘this is what Doc does for the whole team as a whole. “It holds us accountable for playing the right style of basketball, and a winning style of what he knows.”
The fact that Harris used the word ‘liability’ in describing what Rivers brought to the Sixers is particularly noteworthy, as several Sixers have said earlier that the team has not been liable in the past. After wiping out Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics last year, Josh Richardson questions the team’s overall responsibility – or lack thereof – under then-head coach Brett Brown.
“I just think, going forward, [Brown’s] I should not have any more responsibility, “Richardson said.” I do not think there was much responsibility this season, and I think it was part of our problem … It has to start from scratch, it’s not going to be easy. People are not going to be comfortable, but that’s what championship teams do, guys who do not do their job on or off the court, there has to be some kind, not follow, but you have to be able to talk and listen to each other, actually hear “It’s a difficult lesson for some people to learn, but to succeed in this play-off that we all want, it has to start.”
Sixers All-Star forward Ben Simmons wholeheartedly agrees with Richardson’s assessment.
“We did not know when we were going to get a bucket, who was going to get us a bucket,” Simmons said. ‘From it to the knowledge we need to be in at all times, people being held accountable for certain things, whether it’s a small thing, it all plays a role … He was definitely right. We were not able to go into that bubble and win. I think our mindset was down, and accountability is a big part of winning. So, I think he was definitely right. ‘
It’s just a few more weeks into the season, and the Sixers will finally be judged on their performance in the post-season. It would therefore be premature to come to concrete conclusions about how the Sixers will fare under Rivers at this stage of the long-term campaign, but the early results were promising. Through seven action games, the Sixers sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 6-1 record, boasting the best defense in the league. Rivers is doing an excellent job of maximizing the talent in the team, and he has clearly established a culture of accountability, at least according to Tobias. Of course, there is still a long way to go, but it seems that a major problem that plagued the Sixers last season has already been addressed and rectified.