MY ACCOUNT
Doc Rivers is optimistic his injury-hit Philadelphia 76ers will improve despite seeing them lose a fifth game in a row as they fell 120-85 to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Last season’s Eastern Conference top seeds were missing MVP runner-up Joel Embiid, fellow All-Star Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle as they slipped to 8-7 after being overwhelmed by the Jazz.
Having won eight of their first 10 games this season, Philadelphia have now lost five straight – the first time they have done so since December 2017 – but Rivers is confident his team will get back to winning ways soon.
“We’re in a little rut with guys out but you work through it. We’ll get through it,” Rivers told reporters after the defeat.
“There’s no cavalry coming right now. We’ve got to play with what we have, we understand that. We’ve just got to do better.
“We don’t have a margin of error in games. We almost have to play perfect to have a chance to win a game, and for a while we were doing that. Right now, we’re not.”
When asked about the absence of Embiid, Rivers added: “I don’t talk about guys that aren’t here. It’s obvious you miss Joel Embiid and Matisse, but I’m not going to waste time talking about that.
“I’ve got to get our guys that are here to just keep hoping and keep getting better and see where we can get a win.”
The Sixers head coach did have one positive to reflect on from the night, with rookie Charles Bassey posting five points, four rebounds and one block in 10 minutes off the bench.
“I thought he was fantastic,” Rivers said. “He knows the coverages and stuff already. That’s really impressive for a young guy. He actually got on a guy late in the game because the guy didn’t do the right coverage. Just watching him, he knows how to play. He’s raw, but I like how he plays.”
