When the 76ers gathered at the Training Complex Tuesday, it felt familiar.
“It’s a training camp for the playoffs,” Doc Rivers said after Tuesday’s practice, reflecting on the team’s first training camp, in early December 2020.
“You have a training camp for the regular season, and then you have a training camp for the playoffs. They’re two different things - in the regular season, you’re learning how to play with each other. For the playoffs, you’re fine tuning what you already know.”
As was the case during the team’s first training camp, there was also a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the moment.
With the No. 1 seed in tow, the Sixers will have to wait until Thursday night to learn who their opponent will be - Indiana or Washington.
In the meantime, Rivers & co. aren’t worried about their opponent.
“We’re pretty much focused on us right now,” Rivers said. “If we knew our opponent, we probably wouldn’t work on our opponent until, say, Thursday.
“It just gives us an opportunity to sharpen our tools.”
Seth Curry looks forward to spending the week building on the team’s existing chemistry and success.
“We’ve been together as a team all year,” Curry said. “We know each other pretty well. It’s our job to try to stay as sharp as possible.”
Those who followed the Sixers this season will be unsurprised by one of the biggest tools the team is sharpening - holistic defense.
The Sixers finished the regular season with the second-best defensive rating in the league (107.0), trailing only the Lakers (106.8).
The team earned that status despite struggling with transition defense.
“Number one [focus is] transition defense for us,” Tobias Harris said. “That would be an understatement throughout these couple of days that we have to practice.”
“Transition, communication… those two things will be at the top of the list. If we can lock down on transition and on communication, I think we’ll be fine.”
The key to the team’s existing defensive success? Harris says length.
“We have good individual defenders, and also a good team defense, and a good defensive structure out there too.”
In the meantime, Harris - like NBA fans around the world - will be busy enjoying the play-in tournament:
The Sixers will tip off Round 1 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs Sunday.