Dwight Howard, Sixers felt inspired by Buccaneers Super Bowl winning defense
There have been a few moments where two different sports intertwine with one another where they motivate each other to take it up another notch.
For the Philadelphia 76ers, they found themselves inspired by the defensive effort put on by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their 31-9 Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tampa Bay held Kansas City star quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a 26-for-49 night with 270 yards and they picked him off twice in the win. They got three sacks on Mahomes and linebacker Devin White led the way with 12 tackles.
That defensive effort left Dwight Howard and the Sixers feeling inspired to take their defense up another notch.
“After the Super Bowl, it kind of really inspired us to become a better defensive team,” stated Howard. “I think their energy, especially that defensive unit, we know Tom Brady, and all the things that they did offense was amazing, but just how the Bucs played defense on a really, really good offensive team in Kansas City. They held them down. No touchdowns, only field goals so it was like they did their job, and just the way that they play, they’re very physical, very energetic.”
The Sixers are fourth in the league in defensive rating at 108.0, but they were once at the top in the early portion of the season. They want to get back to that point.
If using the Buccaneers shutting down the high-powered Chiefs offense as motivation works, then so be it.
“They didn’t let the other team breathe,” Howard added. “I think the whole game it just seemed like they were frustrated and how they played defense and I think we want to strive to be that way where the other team is like man, every option that we try to bring up to these guys, they’re moving, they’re talking, their energy is so high. When you do that, it just leaves you no choice, but to win.”
The Sixers are beginning a long 4-game road trip on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings so being able to sit down and watch the Super Bowl, to begin with, is a good thing to be able to rest and get ready for the grind of a West Coast trip.
“Guys got rest last night,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We were able to watch the Super Bowl together as a group, we got in early enough to get rest, we were able to have a good practice before a road trip game which is rare.”
Tipoff in Sacramento is set for 10 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
