The Sixers’ Thursday practice down in Charleston was streamed on the NBA app, which was a big win in the transparency department. In previous years, we’ve typically been able to watch 15 minutes of practice at most.

Doc Rivers was mic’d up and delivered to us a fascinating bit of video as the session wrapped up:

Couple of items to focus on:

  1. Tobias Harris “struggling” mentally
  2. Doc wanting Harden (and others) to keep the spirit up
  3. Doc wanting Harden to be a scorer and a facilitator
  4. Embiid clearly being the #1 guy on the team (there’s a pecking order, it ain’t a democracy”
  5. “the only two I want to go get it are you and Joel”

This is one of those things that doesn’t seem like a big deal now, but if the Sixers look janky when the season begins, you’ll have people coming back to it and saying “see! there were problems from the beginning!” They’ll come to their own conclusions and form their own opinions based on a 3 minute snippet from camp.

The most jarring thing about this convo is to hear outright that Tobias Harris and the rest of the crew are basically peripheral pieces. Of course, we know that Harden and Embiid are the top dogs, but to hear a coach say this outright and talk about another guy struggling (in convo with another player) is a little unusual. You don’t often hear these things publicly stated.

Beyond that, I like the fact that Doc is talking about getting James Harden in what he wants. Does it mesh with what Embiid wants? They’re gonna have to figure it out and make it work. That’s on the coach as much as the two dudes on the floor. Anybody can throw the ball to Joel in the post, but with Harden in the fold, there’s so much more to do from a pick and roll perspective, spreading the floor, putting shooters in the corner, drawing defenders, getting Embiid easy buckets, etc. Joel began his career in a unique motion offense with a lot of DHO screening and now he’s in a totally different system with a brilliant ISO and mismatch player handling the ball, so it’s really interesting to watch from a developmental standpoint.

The Sixers have depth, they’ve got quality in transition with Tyrese Maxey, and they’ve got pieces that need to fit together. Regardless of how it unfolds, it’s good to hear the coach and superstar be honest with one another. If they can make it work, they’re gonna be damn good.