Doc Rivers Emphasizes Area Where Sixers Need Improvement
On Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers took down the Houston Rockets, 123-104, in a match that was only really close in the first quarter.
James Harden went off against his former team, dropping 28 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid followed suit, with both players scoring over 20 points against the Rockets.
Despite the Sixers cruising to victory, one area they lacked was rebounding, a trend that has carried throughout the entire season.
As it stands, Philadelphia sits with the third lowest rebounds per game, 45.5, only ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers highlighted this issue in his post-game press conference, explaining that it's an issue that the team is aware of and is working on.
"It's an error we have to keep working on," said Rivers, "They're different. We showed a film today where four or five players where they crash in."
Through the first two quarters, Philadelphia was trailing behind Houston on rebounds, 18-27, with Embiid, who leads the team in rebounding over the course of the season, only grabbing four boards.
Rivers and the rest of the staff pointed this issue out during halftime, which must've worked as the team managed to out-rebound the Rockets through the final two quarters.
"But we showed at halftime that we should've gotten, we should've hit bodies, and we don't, and that's something we have to do," said Rivers.
Rivers explained that their rebounding performance on Monday night shouldn't be a cause for concern, yet emphasizes that it is something that needs to change.
"Tonight is not anything to be alarmed about, but it's something we have to be good at if we want to win big."
Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.
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