Doc Rivers Saw Improvements in Sixers' Transition Defense Against Wizards

Transition defense has been the one weak point all season for the Sixers' defense. When the Washington Wizards came out of the play-in tournament with the eight seed, transition play became a major topic of conversation.

Washington is at its best when playing in the open floor. They play at the fastest pace in the league and like to turn games into a track meet.

Controlling the tempo in this series is key for the Sixers. They need the Wizards to play down to their speed, not try and match their frenetic pace.

The Wizards gave the Sixers some trouble in the early parts of game one. Cold spells offensively allowed Washington to gather misses and push the ball up the floor. In total, they scored 18 fastbreak points.

Doc Rivers gave his thoughts on the transition defense during his postgame media availability. Saying that it was a tale of two halves for the Sixers defending Washington on the break.

"I didn't like it at all in the first half. The second half, I thought it was great. We have a blueprint now to watch tomorrow and go over," said Rivers Sunday.

Transition defense was a focal point for the Sixers in practice for the past week and will likely stay that way as they prepare for game two. After a strong showing in the second half of game one, they now have something to build off.

Washington's only shot at giving the Sixers any issues is in the open floor. When they are forced to walk the ball down, the Sixers' team defense swallows them whole.

If the Sixers can continue to play the game at their speed, they should easily take care of business in round one.

Kevin McCormick covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN and Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinMcCNBA.