Doc Rivers Talks to Anthony Gargano at Sixers Media Day
Anthony was live at Sixers’ Media Day today. And one of the people he sat down with was Head Coach Doc Rivers. Anthony and Doc talked about the new look roster, the work James Harden has put in this off-season, Tyrese Maxey’s growth, and so much more. Here is some of what Doc Rivers had to say.
On Adding Depth This Off Season
“The stars are the stars, but you don’t win unless you have the intangible players. And I feel like going into this season we addressed that as best as we could. And so I’m very excited. I was excited the first year taking the job, but I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t know the guys. But now, going into the 3rd season, Daryl and I, I think we have the team where we want the team.”
On The Work James Harden has put in this offseason
“They all say they want to win, but a lot want to win as long they can do whatever they want. James is trying to tell you ‘No, I understand. I have to do different stuff to win, I have to sacrifice money to winI have sacrifice in my role to win’. Everything he has done this summer, from being the first guy on the floor. We asked guys to come in two weeks early. That is not mandatory. And James is the first guy. James texted everybody. They’re doing all the right stuff. And that is all you can ask as a coach.”
On Where Harden Is Physically
“Full summer of health. Physically he is in great shape. We get a chance to go through training camp now. We got James with 23 games left in the season, and we were already into a sprint. James was not 100% healthy. It’s hard to integrate a guy like that because he is such a difference maker.”
On Tyrese Maxey’s Ceiling
“I don’t know if he has a ceiling. I don’t want to oversell him. We’re trying to win, and we need him to be better each year. But he puts in the work. Watching him work this summer, it was almost insane the amount of hours daily. He wants to be great, and we are going to let him be. It’s funny though.”
On How Maxey Transformed Into an Elite Shooter
“People forget the first year with him, he was shooting like 20%. And I actually said a few times in press conferences, I know you don’t believe me, but the kid is a great shooter. And I don’t think I have ever said that about a guy who hadn’t made a shot. But every day you saw him shooting… It was a beautiful shot, it just wasn’t going in. And the only thing we kept telling him is to keep shooting. Cause no one can shoot that well, and not become a shooter. And they started falling for him. Once they started falling, you saw what he could do.”
Listen to the full interview below…
