Doc Rivers Enjoyed Unusual First Home Game as Sixers Head Coach
There's no place like home for the Philadelphia 76ers. Last season, the Sixers were statistically the best team when playing at home as they possessed a record of 31-4, with only two of those losses actually occurring in South Philly.
Throughout the last few years of his tenure as the Sixers' head coach, Brett Brown always credited the fans for making the environment feel special. This year, Brown is no longer with the organization. Instead, veteran head coach Doc Rivers runs the 76ers for the 2020-2021 season and beyond.
On Tuesday night, Rivers entered the Wells Fargo Center for the first time as the team's head coach as the Sixers were gearing up to take on the Boston Celtics for their preseason debut. Unfortunately for Rivers and some of the new guys, the circumstances were much different.
Typically, the Wells Fargo Center is sold out when the Sixers are playing. But on Tuesday, not a single fan was permitted to attend the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it wasn't an ideal scenario for Rivers and the team's newest additions, the Sixers head coach still enjoyed the atmosphere for what it was.
"I would still take our fans over what we heard," Rivers said following the Sixers victory over the Celtics. "But I thought our guys in game ops did a terrific job overall. Whoever was running game ops did a great job of understanding when we needed defense, we needed crowd noise."
"You felt like you're at home better than you did when you're in the bubble, I'll put it like that. I felt like this was a home game for us, and that was nice. I thought having the, you know, the band and the cheerleaders and stuff was a good touch."
Despite the lack of a crowd, the Sixers still implemented some familiar aspects of a typical home game to create the most realistic setting possible.
The music was blasting, Christian Crosby was hosting, the drumline and the dance team were out making noise, and the crowd was there in spirit as the Sixers pumped in audio of some fake fans (yes, even the typical Philly fan stuff). While there's nothing like a true Sixers home atmosphere, Rivers and the rest of the team were satisfied with the attempt to make everything feel as normal as possible.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
