Doc Rivers Feels ’Turning Point’ is Coming for 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t start the 2022-2023 season the way anybody expected. After making critical changes in the offseason, many believed the Sixers were equipped to make a run in the Eastern Conference and compete with the best of them.

But as we learn every year, on paper and on the court are two different things. On paper, the Sixers look improved from last year’s team that notched the fourth seed in the East and came up short against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

On the court, the Sixers started the year off 1-4 through their first five games. After forming their first win streak of the year, the Sixers were able to get to 4-4 before dropping two straight last week against the Washington Wizards and the New York Knicks.

Throughout the first few weeks of the season, Doc Rivers preached his team wasn’t ready to win just yet. While he acknowledged the Sixers could pick up some victories now and then, going on a run wouldn’t happen until they put all the pieces together.

Is that time coming after an impressive victory against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night? Rivers seems to believe the time is now.

“I just think the turning point is coming anyway,” Rivers said Wednesday after practice. “You can feel it.”

Once the Sixers started turning things around, they were hit with bad luck in the health department. Joel Embiid not only dealt with a sore knee that kept him out of a matchup but also missed three-straight games as he battled the flu.

76ers veteran reserve Danuel House Jr. was in a similar boat, as he missed the Sixers’ last two games with a non-COVID illness, stripping away depth from the bench.

And, of course, everybody is now aware of the setback the star guard James Harden suffered last week. After going down with a tendon strain in the Wednesday night matchup against the Wizards, Harden is expected to be off the floor for quite some time.

“You would like luck in health, but we’re not going to have that for a while, right?” Rivers continued. “James is gonna be out for a month. It is what it is, but the guys, you just feel it. You can feel us starting to get to know each other, starting to get our rhythm. It’s been a very unrhythmic year. If that’s a word, that’s what it’s been so far, just with guys in and out in training camp. Guys only being able to go half to camp. Now guys are playing, and so you can just feel a rhythm coming, and that’s a good thing.”

The Sixers understand that perfecting their rhythm on the court isn’t an easy task — especially in early November when the season is still very young. But Monday’s performance against a Western Conference contender was the Sixers’ most impressive victory of the year in Rivers’ eyes.

Consistency is key moving forward for Philadelphia. On Thursday, they’ll get an opportunity to see just how consistent they can be moving forward when they face the Atlanta Hawks for the first time this year.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.