Doc Rivers Throws Cold Water on Sixers' Hot Start to 2020-2021 NBA Season
Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said this year is championship or bust for the Sixers. Head Coach Doc Rivers seems to be thinking the same way these days as he's hardly celebrating the team's success right now.
At 15-6, the Sixers are the Eastern Conference's top team at the moment. Behind them is the Brooklyn Nets, who trail two games at 14-9.
Lately, the Sixers have seen themselves climb up to the top three on power rankings around the internet. Additionally, they've also had Joel Embiid win Eastern Conference Player of the Month while Doc Rivers was named the Eastern Conference's Head Coach of the Month.
Sixers fans are celebrating the early success of the team so far, rightfully so. But despite the early team-wide and solo accomplishments, Rivers is far from satisfied with the way his team has been playing to start the season.
"I don't think we're even close to where I think we can be," Rivers said on Tuesday following practice. While the head coach is encouraged to see his team improving as time goes on, he hasn't exactly paid attention to what they've accomplished already. Instead, he remains focused on where they absolutely need to improve.
"I can't tell you our record, I really can't," Rivers continued. "I'm just focused on us getting better like, we have to get better. We're not where we need to be or where we want to be. If this is the best we are, we're not good enough. And that's what I tell our guys every night. We got to keep getting better; we got to keep growing. We got to keep adding stuff on both ends offensively and defensively. As a staff, we have to figure out even better rotations. So, we have a long way to go, which is great, you know, because we're winning and getting better. That's what you want."
A little over a month into the 2020-2021 NBA season, the Sixers have looked a lot better than the way they ended last season. Although they're improved in several areas, they had a similarly hot start last season, which they couldn't sustain throughout the year.
Knowing it's a long season ahead and a lot can change over time, Rivers doesn't want his staff or players to get overly confident. The competition will get better as time goes on, and the Sixers will have to improve as well if they want to remain in the driver's seat of the Eastern Conference on the road to the NBA Finals.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
