Doc Rivers’ Philly sports fandom, Danuel House Jr.’s 3-point celebration and more Sixers notes

The 76ers’ coaching staff did not call any fouls during the scrimmage portion of practice Friday.

That was by design. Ramping up conditioning — and moving on quickly after a mistake — are keys for Doc Rivers during this period between their final preseason game and the opener Tuesday at the Boston Celtics.

“Too many coaches have whistles, and every freaking play, someone has something to say,” Rivers said. “So today was one of those where I told them, ‘Let them play through.’

“The players were going nuts, because we weren’t calling anything — like no fouls. It was funny, the second unit figured it out. The white unit [of starters] kept [saying], ‘That was a foul!’ and the second unit realized there were no whistles today, so they took advantage of it.”

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Friday’s practice occurred without guard Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey, who were both released Thursday to get the Sixers down to 17 players (including the two-way contracts for Charlie Brown Jr. and Julian Champagnie).

Rivers believes Joe and Bassey have NBA futures, but they were both in positional logjams after the win-now Sixers bolstered their depth with more proven veterans through free agency and an offseason trade. The coach called Joe’s release a “tough one for me, just personally” because “I really like the kid.” Rivers added that Bassey “has a long way to go” and hoped to see more force from him as a shot-blocker and rebounder while his offense came along.

Rivers recognizes it is going to be a “heck of a weekend” in this passionate sports city, with the Phillies hosting playoff baseball for the first time since 2011 and the 5-0 Eagles set to play the rival Dallas Cowboys (4-1) at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night.

This all happens less than a week before Rivers’ Sixers, who have their own championship aspirations, begin the regular season with two marquee matchups, at Boston on Tuesday and at home Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“The energy in the city’s amazing right now,” Rivers said. “You walk the streets or drive the streets and you see Phillies jerseys, Sixers jerseys, Eagles jerseys. It’s just fun. But now we’ve just got to keep doing well. That’s the key.”

This buzz reminds Rivers of his time in Boston, when the Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, and Bruins all won at least one title between 2004 and 2011.

Rivers is a fan of all sports, and watches with an eye for detail such as the execution of a baseball double play or when a fielder backs up at home plate. But he perhaps takes the most from football, because of the discipline required to get 11 players to do the right thing on each snap. Rivers and Eagles coach Nick Siriani, a big basketball fan, have become friends.

“I like his spirit, and I love how they’re playing,” Rivers said of Siriani and the Eagles. “They are locked in, and you can see it as a group.”

While the Sixers used the preseason to implement their newcomers on the court, their 4-0 exhibition slate also offered a glimpse into those players’ personalities.

Danuel House Jr., for instance, mimics loading and firing a bow and arrow after every three-point make. That’s a nod to his sons, who are fans of Spiderman and the Hulk.

“They like the whole Avengers thing,” House said. “It was just a celebration for them.”

House said he has been doing the celebration since he was a Houston Rocket, where he shot 36.9% from deep on 4.7 attempts per game.

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Part of what has made reserve big man Paul Reed such a fan favorite is his simplistic Twitter handle and nickname, Bball Paul. Sixers public address announcer Matt Cord instantly adopted that for whenever he called Reed’s name during a home game.

That changed during the Sixers’ two home preseason contests, when Cord announced Reed with — gasp! — his actual name.

“I ain’t tell them to stop,” Reed said. “They did that themselves. … I didn’t notice until somebody told me. I don’t really focus on that [during a game].”