History
If there is anything that is clear during Doc Rivers coaching career, especially in the playoffs, it is that he cannot make in game adjustments. Doc Rivers has his game plan and follows it religiously, no matter what is going on during the game. Any adversity that his teams hit, they just continue to play and hope they get out of the shooting slump, handle their matchups better, etc. This is often overlooked when everything is going well and the teams are winning, but is infuriating when it’s not. Doc manages to make excuses for all the times his teams have underperformed, but the fact of the matter is he is the only consistent variable in all those situations.
1st Round Issues
Watching this Sixers team in the playoffs just further proves this point, as they consistently do not change their game plan no matter what. The Raptors have changed defensive strategies, lineups, pace of play, and anything else Nick Nurse can think of to turn this series around. They don’t always work obviously, but you see the team trying new things and not accepting getting beaten the same way over and over again. There is nothing more frustrating as a fan than watching your team and struggle and the coach’s plan of action is to do nothing.
The Raptors have been playing with a larger lineup since Fred Van Vleet got hurt early in game 4 and it has completely changed the complexion of this series. Embiid is hurt which is obviously affecting him and the series, but the Raptors adjustments have been huge. All of the sudden the Sixers are really struggling to score with all the length and athleticism the Raptors have on the court and they now clearly are being outplayed in the past two games. Yet with all of this changing in the series, the Sixers go out with the same game plan and do not adjust to the Raptors…ever.
Adjustments
The offensive and defensive schemes have not changed at all since the series started, despite all the changes in both the health of the players and the strategy of the Raptors. The Sixers continue to play the same way and continue to give the Raptors the advantage, which now has the series in a very dangerous position. Doc and his assistants cannot continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result.
Doc has been coaching for 30 years and still cannot figure out how to close out a series. Use some of that experience to get the team off their back foot, and have them ready to play. Something needs to change to get this series back in the Sixers control and avoid choking a 3-0 lead.
