Isaiah Joe discusses staying mentally ready for Sixers amid COVID issues
The Philadelphia 76ers are short-handed as they take on the Boston Celtics on the road on Monday, part of the adversity they are dealing with.
Their home matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday was postponed because they did not meet the NBA requirement of eight available players. Andre Drummond and Shake Milton joined Georges Niang in the league’s health and safety protocol.
While the Sixers are beginning to stock up on reinforcements, such as signing six-year veteran Tyler Johnson, they will rely more on second-year guard Isaiah Joe to contribute.
“This being my second year, I think I just realized that your name can actually be called at any time,” said Joe. “It can be called even with a full roster and, in the first year, that can catch you off guard, but now I’m in my second year, I feel like I’m ready mentally. I’ve put in the work on the court, but now it’s about mentally staying ready, mentally staying checked in and that’s what it’s all about.”
Joe is no stranger to this situation. In his rookie season, the Sixers were hit hard by COVID-19 in January 2021, and he had to give more to the team. Over a five-game stretch, he averaged 28.9 minutes and shot 43.6% from deep on 7.8 attempts while averaging 12.4 points.
“When I started playing a lot, we were down a lot,” said Joe. “We were down a lot of players with COVID. So I was kind of ready for that one.”
Once again in that situation, Joe will be called upon to give more.
“My preparation is basically the same,” Joe finished. “In order to have that stay ready mentality, you have to work out and prepare as if you’re going to play each and every game.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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