OT: 2023 Playoff

[Dynamix]

I hope Doc does get hired somewhere else, want to see how long he can extend that second round losing streak.

[esqtvd]

C’mon guys. After the first quarter, the Sixers were 20-61 from the floor. Harden, Embiid, and Melton were a combined 7-29. The Sixers have/had no depth. What kind of adjustments do you make when your center, the league MVP, is getting beaten down and out by Al Horford—and your backup is Paul Reed? Harden looked pathetic out there—constant flopping and lack of initiative. But if he and Melton are having bad games, who do you go to? Danuel House? Furkan Korkmaz? Doc is definitely going to take the fall here, and maybe some of it will be deserved. But that Philly team overachieved this season right up to the 42 minute point in Game 6.

And Morey still has a job?

But Doc said some things early on that pissed off the Philly fan base so he was always dead man walking. Add in first Ben Simmons then James Harden, notorious playoff disappearing acts, no depth, and it was inevitable. Plus the Celts have quite a good team up there. But Doc's position was untenable--The Phillies and Eagles made the finals and Embiid's clock is ticking. Harden's probably out of there. There is nothing to run it back with. Even if it's not Doc's fault, there is zero reason to keep him on. Keeping the fan base lit demands a change.

OTOH, people who say 'things can't get any worse' have no imagination.

[NickP]

Almost any coach can coach by "give the ball to your best players and step out of their way" style of coaching.
However, "coaching" comes into play when your best players are shooting blanks.
This is where good coaches rise to the top. They quickly analyse what's not working and start implementing other plans.
Unfortunately, Doc had none. All he could do was stand on the sidelines with that crying face of his.
So yeah, bringing up shooting stats of star players in pivotal games doesn't bode well for coaches.

[esqtvd]

Actually it was Embiid who blamed the other players--who actually did pretty well: Tobias had 19, Maxey had 17 and even Tucker chipped in 11. And a lot of people noticed. A very bad look from The Process. Sixer Twitter was strangely tame about putting the blame on Doc.

Read on Twitter

[MartinToVaught]

And Morey still has a job?

Morey should probably at least be on the hot seat, but in his defense, he didn't hire Doc. I suppose the logic would be to at least give him a chance with a coach of his choosing before firing him.

[esqtvd]

Morey has kept his head down in Philly so nobody's calling for it, lol. Morey doesn't go on TV or even talk radio [which is vicious in Philly]. Most people don't know who he is. Elton Brand is team president and gets more flak [and blame] than Morey.

[NickP]

Morey has kept his head down in Philly so nobody's calling for it, lol. Morey doesn't go on TV or even talk radio [which is vicious in Philly]. Most people don't know who he is. Elton Brand is team president and gets more flak [and blame] than Morey.

EB has been a disaster in Philly. How he continues to be employed is anyone's guess.

[wco81]

Doc is a competent coach but he wasn't going to help elevate Embiid's game or especially Harden given his age.

He campaigned for Embiid's MVP but didn't challenge him to go up a level in the playoffs. He's not going to challenge the big stars like that.

After all, they keep him employed, as he's always made sure to be on teams with good stars.

But realistically, he overachieved with this Sixers roster. Harden uncharacteristically had two huge games or it wouldn't have even gone to game 7.

[nickhx2]

agree that doc overachieved

i'm not really someone who takes particular pleasures in his demise the way others often do, but i also always find myself going "hmm that's kinda what you get, huh" considering how often he needlessly evokes his past with this team, as well as his regular need to shirk accountability.

his best players didn't do the thing, and in a critical game, that's what they're supposed to do. i don't really see how you can blame him for that. plenty of other things to zing him on, if need be.

[NickP]

agree that doc overachieved

i'm not really someone who takes particular pleasures in his demise the way others often do, but i also always find myself going "hmm that's kinda what you get, huh" considering how often he needlessly evokes his past with this team, as well as his regular need to shirk accountability.

his best players didn't do the thing, and in a critical game, that's what they're supposed to do. i don't really see how you can blame him for that. plenty of other things to zing him on, if need be.

Best coaches like Pop don't always win each playoff game with their best scorers playing at their best.
They all have plays and schemes ready for such a contingency when the best scorers aren't producing.
They find ways to win those games. Doc is a pathetic excuse for a coach who's only coached teams with top level talent. He's more of a personality manager than a basketball coach.

[wco81]

But I get the sense that Doc wasn't really going to do anything to alienate Embiid or maybe to a lesser extent, Harden.

Especially after what happened with Simmons, when he didn't fully back him when the problems started.

For instance, people criticize that Embiid isn't fit enough to be more dominant in the playoffs, so Doc should have confronted Embiid more about it.

Has Doc ever risked alienating the franchise players, at Boston, at the Clippers?

Even if it meant trying to get the best players to reach the next level?

At Boston, he had a pretty veteran team. He wasn't going to motivate them to become much greater than they already were.

With the Clippers, CP3 was younger than the Celtics stars on that 2008 team and Blake was obviously a lot younger. One way to look at his tenure there is that they could never maximize the talent on the roster because of injuries. Seems like bad luck, beyond their control.

Or could he have pushed his stars to change their diets and training and load managed so that they were more likely to get through the playoffs without injuries.

[esqtvd]

But I get the sense that Doc wasn't really going to do anything to alienate Embiid or maybe to a lesser extent, Harden.

Especially after what happened with Simmons, when he didn't fully back him when the problems started.

For instance, people criticize that Embiid isn't fit enough to be more dominant in the playoffs, so Doc should have confronted Embiid more about it.

Has Doc ever risked alienating the franchise players, at Boston, at the Clippers?

Even if it meant trying to get the best players to reach the next level?

At Boston, he had a pretty veteran team. He wasn't going to motivate them to become much greater than they already were.

With the Clippers, CP3 was younger than the Celtics stars on that 2008 team and Blake was obviously a lot younger. One way to look at his tenure there is that they could never maximize the talent on the roster because of injuries. Seems like bad luck, beyond their control.

Or could he have pushed his stars to change their diets and training and load managed so that they were more likely to get through the playoffs without injuries.

Read on Twitter

?

James Harden To Decline $35.6M Option With Sixers, Seeks 'Competitive Basketball', 'Basketball Freedom To Be Himself'

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/271603/James-Harden-To-Decline-$356M-Option-With-Sixers-Seeks-Competitive-Basketball-Basketball-Freedom-To-Be-Himself

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Doc Rivers challenged Joel Embiid to get into better shape over offseason

“He told me that I needed to be a leader,” Embiid added about Rivers. “If I came back in shape, it also meant to my teammates, ‘It’s time to go. Joel is ready. He came back. He’s in great shape. That means you guys have no excuse to not be in shape.’ So that’s what I did. I took it to heart.”

Take it to heart Embiid has indeed. The 27-year-old, who is officially listed at 280 pounds, used to be infamous for his poor diet. But Embiid has been open about how he took his conditioning very seriously this past summer.

https://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/doc-rivers-challenged-joel-embiid-better-shape-offseason/578876

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Process this: Joel Embiid took stock of his play, embraced change and embarked on an MVP-caliber season

Embiid's steps to transform his body, develop his on-court skills and become a more active leader powered him to a special season during which he led the NBA in scoring.

About two minutes into their first conversation in 2020, Doc Rivers set high expectations for Joel Embiid.

“I told him he should be MVP,” the 76ers’ coach recalled earlier this week. “I told him I am going to have very little to do with that. That comes from the desire of the player and the work that he wants to put in.

“And Joel has done the work.”

“The work” fueling the five-time All-Star’s unceasing rise includes a commitment to transforming his body, giving the previously injury-prone Embiid the durability to play a career-high 68 games even with a stint in health and safety protocols. He has also continued to develop skills rare for a player of his size, increasing his dominance and versatility on both ends of the floor. And he has become a more active leader, propelling his team through the tumultuous Ben Simmons situation and the late-season implementation of fellow All-Star James Harden.


The on-court results have been staggering. He was the NBA’s leading scorer during the regular season at 30.6 points per game — the first center since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to accomplish that feat and the first at that position to average more than 30 points per game since Moses Malone in 1981-82 — while adding 11.7 rebounds, a career-high 4.2 assists and 1.5 blocks per game for a Sixers team that won 51 games. Next, Embiid will anchor a playoff push that begins with a first-round matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

For the 28-year-old who still relishes in the occasional “Troel” moment, Embiid’s strides have been deliberate, mature and self-aware. And they powered him to a special season, whether or not he wins the NBA’s top individual regular-season award.

“From one year to the following year, the changes that he has made in order for him to be a better player for our team to win are amazing,” Rivers said. “As a coach, I’m just very proud of him.”

[MartinToVaught]

He's more of a personality manager than a basketball coach.

He sucks at that too. Everywhere he's gone, the locker room has turned dysfunctional on his watch.

[clipperlover]

The difference maker for the Nuggets is Michael Malone. In Game 5, the Suns came out in the 3rd and went on a short burst. Malone called time and got his troops focused. Last night, they came out in the 3rd and were just playing very sloppy basketball. Malone was pissed off, called a time out and laid into his team. It worked. They came out of that time and were more crisp with their play. Malone has no trouble lighting into his team which is not the norm these days.

Mike Malone is doing an outstanding job. He has his team (the top seed in the West) playing like an unrespected, underdog with something to prove. His team embarrassed Phoenix and now they are doing the same the the Lakers. He is not only pushing the right buttons to guide hi team to a title, but he has made it a personal agenda to put the biggest asterisks next to an MVP award in history. If Denver wins the title and Jokic is Finals MVP, does any every finds Embiid's regular season MVP as legit?

Look at Malone's press conference after Game 3. He made it a point to make 2 things known:
1. Jokic was calling plays in the huddle in the 4th and executing the those plays on the court.
2. Murray and Jokic are putting up these numbers while the Lakers defensive strategy has been camping AD as a floater in the key for much longer than the allowed 3 seconds.

His simple comments about AD in the key for 8 seconds serves a few purposes:
1. Highlights that the Nuggets would be absolutely smashing the Lakers if the refs weren't allowing AD to camp in the paint defensively.
2. Puts the officials on notice
3. Draws everyone's attention to this for Game 4, so the Lakers will have to devise something else. Everyone can already see the favorable fouls calls are the only reason the Lakers haven't been blown out 3 straight games.

Since Game 4 is an even # game and AD doens't show up for those, cue the Game 4 press conference after the Nuggets blow them out to be LeBron talking about how bad his ankles were feeling and how limited him in the series.

[LamarWho]

This Miami team is just inspirational. Don't count them out against Denver.

[Dynamix]

Here's a little thought exercise: let's say you switch Doc with Spo before the playoffs, same rosters, same circumstances (Giannis, Embiid, Herro, Oladipo getting hurt). Which team from the East goes to the finals?

[esqtvd]

Here's a little thought exercise: let's say you switch Doc with Spo before the playoffs, same rosters, same circumstances (Giannis, Embiid, Herro, Oladipo getting hurt). Which team from the East goes to the finals?

The one with Jimmy Buckets on it.

https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-coaching-search-doc-rivers-james-harden-joel-embiid-fired-20230519.html

How James Harden and Ben Simmons got Doc Rivers fired from the Sixers

Doc made Joel Embiid an MVP, created Tyrese Maxey, and turned "B-ball" Paul Reed into a usable commodity, but, in the end, he couldn't fix B.S. and the Beard.

Harden shot 21.8% — 12-for-55 — in the Sixers’ four losses to the Celtics this year. He did plenty of other things badly — pouting about non-calls, throwing the ball away — but averaging just 12.5 points and fewer than 14 shots in those losses were his worst sins.


Rivers won the 2008 title with the Celtics He has 1,097 regular-season wins, which ranks ninth all-time. He has 111 playoff wins, which ranks fourth.


Who would not have failed? Star-herder Phil Jackson? Drill sergeant Gregg Popovich? Bystander Steve Kerr?

No, they probably would have failed, too.

Doc tried everything.

He begged Ben to shoot. When that failed, he begged us to appreciate Ben for what he was. When that failed, Rivers gave up.

That led to Harden. Rivers did a passable job at turning a ball-hog gunner who wouldn’t play defense into a clever distributor who at least understood defensive concepts. But he couldn’t break the Beard of his slow-play habit, his shot-clock indifference, or his dependence on refs’ bailing him out of uncontrolled penetrations and the messes that they made.

The upside
Doc did lots of great things.

As a legitimate winner, Doc helped the Sixers turn the page from the despised, seven-year Process that was, fairly or not, branded as a Brett Brown production.

More than anything, Rivers polished The Process. He persuaded Embiid to get into into better shape. He taught him unstoppable moves. He built a defense around Embiid’s athleticism and size. He devised schemes to punish double teams. Rivers made Embiid an immediate MVP contender, and, this year, an MVP.

Rivers also developed Maxey, who, as the 21st overall pick, might turn out to be the best value in the 2020 draft. It took a while, but by the end of the season Rivers had incorporated 38-year-old enforcer P.J. Tucker. He even turned Paul Reed into a viable backup center.

But Doc couldn’t save Ben, and Doc couldn’t change James, and, so, Doc is gone.

Published May 19, 2023
Marcus Hayes
I write about sports and the issues that surround them.

[MartinToVaught]

The Heat wouldn't have made it out of the play-in, and Glenn would have congratulated himself on making it that far with "the mess he inherited" from Spoelstra.

[ejftw]

Doc is gone because he's just not a good coach, especially when it comes to post season play. That blog post is hilarious.

I'd take my chances with Mike Dunleavy over Doc any day

[donemilio21]

He's more of a personality manager than a basketball coach.

He sucks at that too. Everywhere he's gone, the locker room has turned dysfunctional on his watch.

That's because he is nepotistic. He heavily favors some players over others regardless of their performance. And he especially has problems with those who call him on his BS in game tactics.