Philadelphia 76ers: The Doc Rivers experience is already old
By David Esser
Regardless of what happens throughout the rest of the series, last night’s loss will likely go down as one of the worst in Philadelphia 76ers team history – potentially the worst.
Despite being up by as many as 26 points, playing in front of a sold-out Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers went on to lose Game 5. Joel Embiid and Seth Curry were the only two players to score a single point for Philly in the second half, and Trae Young ran circles around the Sixers defense en route to a 39 point performance.
Right off the bat, the likes of Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris deserve an exuberant amount of blame for the soul-crushing loss. Both players are on max contact deals, and yet both players actively hurt their team’s chances at winning a home playoff game. Harris had four points on 2-11 shooting, and Simmons had eight points while going 4-14 from the foul line. If just one of these players had a below average game, as opposed to a downright disastrous one, the Sixers are likely up 3-2 in the series.
Additionally, the bench once again turned out a lackluster performance on all accounts. The thrill of signing Dwight Howard has quickly worn off as he continues to churn out negative +/- box score performances, George Hill has largely been a non-factor, Shake Milton streaky, Tyrese Maxey looks like a rookie, etc.
While I do think basketball is the most “player driven” league across all professional sports, and you should always blame the on-court talent before turning one’s attention to the coaching staff on the sideline, you simply cannot talk about the Sixers’ all-time bad playoff collapse without mentioning the guy with the clipboard. A guy who has now made a bit of a name for himself as being one of the worst “chokers” in professional basketball.
More from Section 215
- 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
- Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
- 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
- Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
- Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles
Doc Rivers status as being a playoff “choker” has now made its way to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Doc Rivers, hired to finally push the Sixers over the top after multiple “failed” years under Brett Brown, has been downright awful in the playoffs this year. I’m not afraid to say it, and neither should you. Forget what he accomplished in Boston over a decade ago, Doc Rivers is probably the number one reason the Sixers are one game away from summer vacation.
It wasn’t more than two years ago that Brett Brown had the Sixers mere seconds away from the Eastern Conference Finals, and that was facing off against a Kawhi Leonard led Raptors team that would go on to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy. We’re going backwards.
Not only can you make the argument that Doc has coddled someone like Simmons to the point of literal regression, but his in-game coaching style has been atrocious:
after 10 postseason games, numbers are grim
— Ben Detrick (@bdetrick) June 17, 2021
lineups with dwight: -15.2 net rating in 256 possessions
dwight + tobias: -19.0 net rating in 183 possessions
this isn't criticism of dwight or tobias individually—but there's never been any evidence these groups could score
philly's insistence on funneling all backup center minutes to dwight and bafflingly misusing simmons have been glowing ominously for months. it was always going to burn them, only question was the degree
— Ben Detrick (@bdetrick) June 17, 2021
The 76ers are the only team to blow an 18-point lead in back-to-back playoff games in the last 25 seasons. They had a win probability of 95.5% at one point in Game 4, and it reached 99.7% late in the 3rd quarter of Game 5. pic.twitter.com/3zg1q5qnlH
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 17, 2021
Not great!
The biggest problem with Doc is that this isn’t old news. Rivers is the first coach in NBA history to blow two separate 3-1 leads (both with the Clippers), and he hasn’t actually coached a team to the NBA Finals since 2010. The Clippers parted ways with Rivers this past offseason due to said reasons, and have already gotten better results from Ty Lue (who isn’t a good coach).
Related Story. Philadelphia 76ers: Game 6 could define Ben Simmons’ future in Philly. light
Barring some sort of miraculous run by the Philadelphia 76ers over the next two games, a run that leads into an NBA Finals trip, Daryl Morey is probably looking to shake things up once again. Simmons will likely be traded, the bench will get blown up, and multiple draft picks could get dealt. However, Doc Rivers likely isn’t going anywhere. He signed a five-year deal this past offseason, and is owed another $32 million over the next four years.
I’m not saying the Sixers should have kept Brett Brown around for an eighth season, but it sure feels like scapegoating him for all of the team’s flaws wasn’t the best way to approach things.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯