A ruckus in the Wells Fargo Arena was felt last night as the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Milwaukee Bucks. Former head coach Doc Rivers, now with the visitors, was smothered with boos from the home crowd, and while the hosts ultimately fell short, the team’s not-so-distant history with the longtime tactician was once again bannered at the forefront of things.
When asked before the game about how Philadelphia lost Games 6 and 7 against Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after going up 3-2, Rivers offered a not-so-candid take on his game plan ahead of those outings, where a dub would’ve sent them to the Conference Finals for the first time in decades.
"Maybe they were better. Could that be a possibility? I thought Game 6 was our game. I didn't think Joel go the ball enough, and trust me, the game plan was for him to get it. And he didn't get it. I don't know how healthy he was. But as I told you guys a hundred times, you put yourself in those positions, winning is hard. You're gonna win some of them and you're not gonna win some of them."
Doc Rivers once again refuses to take ownership for the 76ers collapsing last season
Rivers, puzzlingly considered to be an all-time great head coach, has recently been re-exposed as a patron of evading accountability when his shortcomings are so painfully obvious. In last season’s playoffs, he couldn’t adjust to Joe Mazzulla slowing things down by going with a bigger lineup, which ultimately cost them a potential Finals appearance. Joel Embiid was notably limited in the final game, and if Rivers considers what unfolded as a culmination of his game plan, then the 76ers were doomed from the get-go.
The one-time NBA champion coach has shown repeated instances of faltering when things get tight, especially in the playoffs. No one in NBA history has coached to lose a Game 7 more than Rivers, who has also blown countless playoff leads, some of those even being 3-1 advantages in a seven-game series.
It’s also no coincidence that Philadelphia — when healthy — has improved in most facets of the game despite having a less talented roster on paper. What Nick Nurse has done this season has been key to the 76ers suddenly having a much more desirable pathway to contention for the foreseeabel future.
Fortunately, the 76ers will not be the ones to do the biding anymore for when Doc Rivers inevitably fails to keep a ship from sinking, because even if they are the ones that go down the drain, they have a much better captain to lean on — one who actually owns up to his shortcomings and then some.