Philadelphia 76ers: 5 takeaways from Doc Rivers’ first press conference

1. Make the most of what he has

Doc Rivers is not rallying for change. He is not asking for trades, nor is he expecting to coach a different roster next season. While PR responsibilities likely factor into the vision Rivers projects to the public, it’s clear he believes the Sixers can win as presently constructed.

"“I think you have to be who you are. I think the mistake a lot of teams have made is everyone wanted to be Golden State, but no one could shoot like Golden State… you have to be the best version of you, and not apologize for that. This team has great size, great athleticism, great multi-positional players. So I think that is new. I think that is the new way. I think what I do like, again from afar, is this team has the ability to morph in three or four different lineups that can create problems for other team’s and that’s something we will definitely do here.”"

The Sixers will look different next season, but Rivers believes in the pieces he has available. He will look for new ways to unlock Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. He will throw Tobias Harris into more pick-and-rolls. He will even try his hand at the Joel Embiid-Al Horford pairing.

Whether it’s through increased tempo, more movement, or a broad restructuring of how the offense operates, Rivers will do his best to maximize the talent he has available. The Sixers are not Golden State. The Sixers are not even the Lakers, who took on a bully-ball persona this season with great success. Rivers will need to unearth the Sixers’ identity, which Brett Brown never truly accomplished.

Am I confident in the Sixers winning with the roster in place? No. But Rivers has built his career on fitting pieces together that, at first glance, don’t seem to fit. And his resume on offense does speak for itself, and is clearly a reason behind Philadelphia’s decision to hire him. Only time will tell if Rivers can deliver.