It’s Time to Make a Change
Yes, this is another piece about how the Sixers need to pull the trigger and fire Doc Rivers. Blown leads have been the story of Rivers coaching career dating back to his time in Boston but most recently in the form of a 16 point lead blown in the final 3:51 of Friday’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers. Say what you want this is far beyond a trend, this is who Doc Rivers is.
Even though the Sixers were ultimately able to win the game in overtime against a below average Lakers team, it was in despite of Rivers coaching not because of it which has been a common theme since Rivers took over in 2020. Rivers was hired to replace Brett Brown because the organization felt they needed to make a change in culture from the process. This hasn’t exactly worked, while the Sixers are a combined 113-66 with Rivers in a little over two seasons, they have still not been able to make it out of the second round of the playoffs.
Rivers has proven time and time again that he is not the coach that is going to win a championship with this team. The Sixers have made what looks to be the right moves on the court. They drafted Tyrese Maxey who has blossomed into a star, traded for James Harden while getting rid of an ugly Ben Simmons situation, and have had a top five player in the league in Joel Embiid but still have had little to no playoff success. It has been more of the same and when it matters most this team has shown us that they will not live up to the moment.
With Sam Cassell waiting in the wings similar to Monty Williams under Brett Brown, the Sixers must make the correct move before it is too late. With every game that passes and every lead that is blown Rivers’ seat gets hotter and hotter. They have been hovering around the .500 mark and will likely stay that way without some kind of spark.
If this team has any hope of making a playoff run it is going to be because of home court advantage. At this current pace, the Sixers will be lucky to be the sixth seed. The Sixers look more like the Hawks, Knicks and Raptors than they do the Celtics, Bucks, or Cavaliers which is unacceptable given the talent on their roster. Morey has done a great job bringing the right pieces in to succeed, now it is up to him to show Rivers the door. It’s time for a change.
Photo via Nick Wass Associated Press
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Categorized:Sixers