Tyler Johnson explains why he joined Sixers, credits coach Doc Rivers
With the Philadelphia 76ers dealing with a lot of COVID issues at the moment as they move forward with the 2021-22 season, they made a move to add reinforcements to their roster.
They brought in 7-year veteran Tyler Johnson on a 10-day hardship exception with the Sixers missing so many guys at the moment. Johnson spent the previous two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and he is a career 36% shooter from deep.
Johnson was just hanging out down in Miami–he began his career with the Heat–and he got the call from the Sixers on Monday. Now that he is with the Sixers, he is looking to take advantage of the opportunity given to him.
“Obviously, there’s been a breakout of COVID and it’s given some guys an opportunity to get back into the league or giving young guys an opportunity to come up from the G League,” said Johnson on Thursday. “It’s pretty similar on my end. I got a call. Obviously, with what’s going on here and I jumped at the opportunity.”
In terms of what is expected of Johnson, he is not sure. However, the fact that coach Doc Rivers is here is a good thing for him. He will make Johnson’s life easier and the veteran out of Fresno State is thankful for that.
“Doc just told me come and play basketball,” Johnson added. “If I get an opportunity to just come in and play. Fortunately enough, Doc’s kind of old school and so a lot of the terminology is very similar. So it’s not that big of an adjustment as far as terminology goes.”
Johnson added that he and Rivers will have a conversation before Thursday’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks to further clear things up.
“Me and Doc, we’re probably gonna have a talk a little bit before the game starts today,” he added. “Right now, it’s been pretty light. Just introductions, meeting a lot of great people, and that’s probably where we’re at right now.”
Another thing that should help Johnson is his experience playing against the Sixers. He has played against the likes of Joel Embiid for the majority of his career with the biggest example coming in the 2018 playoffs while he was a member of the Heat. Johnson averaged 8.0 points and shot 60% from deep in that 5-game series with the Sixers while starting all five games.
“You gotta get acclimated,” he stated. “I haven’t played with any of these guys before, but as far as the organization, I played them in the playoffs when I was with Miami. Obviously, Doc has been around for a while and I’ve talked to a lot of guys who have played for him and the good thing is, he just lets you play. On that end, I think I’ll get to know guys little but more once we get up and down a little.”
One thing is for sure, Johnson is ready to come in and give the Sixers a boost. Just as he has done for the majority of his career.
“This is my seventh year going on eight in the league,” he finished. “When you’ve been around for this long, you’ve heard different things, and you kind of know what to expect.”
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