Anthony Tolliver, who recently signed a 10-day deal with the Sixers, made his debut, playing about 14 minutes on Friday night vs. the Clippers Rivers said he was happy with the veteran despite the 35-year-old not really knowing the game plan.
“I feel bad for him,” Rivers explained to FortyEightMinutes and other reporters after the game. “He didn’t know anything, I mean, play-wise. We put him at the five and the four, and I was laughing with Dave Joerger. I said, ‘It doesn’t matter. He didn’t know either position anyway! We can put him at the point guard’. He didn’t know any position.
“We just wanted him out there to space the floor, and I thought he did that. I thought he actually made a couple of pretty good defensive plays for us as well.”
Tolliver missed both of his shots from the field but it sounded like the coaching staff was happy enough with the veteran. His 10-day deal will expire later in the week, though I’d be surprised if he didn’t get at least another 10-day pact with the club.
More From Philadelphia
- Joel Embiid, who had 36 points on 10-of-20 shots against the Clippers, is “clearly” the MVP of the league, according to teammate Ben Simmons. “I don’t think teams really know what to do when guarding him,” Simmons said. “I think he’s clearly the MVP this season. He’s been so dominant and consistent this whole year, and he’s been healthy, which has been great for us. So, I don’t know how to stop him.”
- Rivers was asked about the MVP race prior to the game and said he’d vote for Embiid while admitting that “the kid in Denver” would get his second-place vote (Embiid is currently +250 at PointsBet, behind only Nikola Jokic).
- We don’t like boo-boo-woo-booing at FortyEightMinutes.com and it sounded like Paul George was doing a bit of that after the game. When asked about Philly’s defense, PG said the Sixers “got away with a lot of stuff,” while adding that although the team did a good job on rotations, “a lot of it wasn’t clean.” George finished with a game-high 37 points (plus/minus of -4), though it’s worth noting that Simmons didn’t spend much time guarding, taking Reggie Jackson for the majority of the night instead.
- George Hill could make his debut sometime next week, Rivers explained before the Clippers contest. “No timeline, but I think sooner than later,” said Rivers. “…I would say sometime next week would optimistic, but I’m optimistic so I’m gonna go with that.”
- Friday night was the sixth time this season that Embiid scored 35 points or more through three quarters.
