Philadelphia 76ers: 5 players who benefit from Doc Rivers as coach

There are plenty of new and familiar faces on the Sixers heading into the season. Who will be impacted most by the Philadelphia 76ers’ new head coach, Doc Rivers?

Doc Rivers is ready to make an impact on the city of Philadelphia. Just a few days after leaving the Los Angeles Clippers, he was hired by the 76ers to be the new head coach. Philly fans are hoping that Rivers can elevate this team to new heights where Brett Brown could not.

Now that the team has upgraded its roster, thanks to the addition of Daryl Morey, Rivers has a chance to show what he can do. Will his coaching experience, philosophy, and strategies be effective with this group of players? Can he connect with each player, especially the Sixers’ young stars, and maximize the teams collective productivity?

We will look at five players who could benefit most from having Doc Rivers as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.

5. Seth Curry

Now that Seth Curry plays for the Sixers, they’re fortunate to have someone who can finally spread the floor for Joel Embiid. If you haven’t heard, Seth Curry comes from a family of shooters. His dad, Dell Curry, played in the NBA. His brother is some guy named Steph, who happens to be arguably the best 3-point shooter in NBA history. Seth is not the superstar that his brother is, but if used properly, Doc Rivers can help lift Curry’s career to another level.

What Seth Curry lacks as a defender, he makes up with being a smart decision maker and lethal shooter. For his career, he only averaged one turnover per game. Rivers should capitalize on Curry’s recent 3-point career highs in attempts per game (five) and shooting average (45.2 percent).

Looking back, the new Sixers coach played with a guard in New York who had a similar offensive style. In the 90s, Doc Rivers played point guard for the Knicks, and when Patrick Ewing was not an option with the shot clock running down, John Starks would benefit from Doc’s assists. Like Curry, the former teammate of Doc Rivers was a guard who could get hot quickly and was unafraid to launch shots from deep. Although John Starks was more explosive than Seth Curry, Doc Rivers will most likely design plays that will boost Curry’s effectiveness and create easier shots for Joel Embiid.

At this point in his career, Seth Curry is who he is. We all know what to expect from the player whose career really took off in Dallas. For the Mavericks, he played 26 minutes a game and averaged 12.6 points. Doc Rivers can draw up pick-and-roll plays with Embiid and Curry, or have him run around screens like J.J. Redick used to. If Doc Rivers makes that connection, that would make Embiid as happy as he was when Redick was a Sixer. The more minutes for Curry, the more the offense will benefit.