Joel Embiid Shields Doc Rivers From Late-Game Blame

If it had not been for the eight-game winning streak leading up to the matchup, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ recent loss to the Wizards would have been much more frustrating. Many of their ugly habits were put on display as the team sleep-walked through the first half, being outrebounded 22-13 and going into halftime trailing 67-56. This did not stop the team from flipping the switch and being in a position to win with the game winding down, but they stumbled to a finish. Washington, who entered the game with a 13-21 record, managed to do just enough down the stretch, and several late-game blunders sunk the Sixers.

When speaking to the media following the loss, Joel Embiid was quick to take responsibility. As the superstar put it, “It was all on me. I had a bad last two minutes. That is on me,” per Ky Carlin of SixersWire. For what it’s worth, Embiid finished the matchup with 48 points along with 10 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. In the closing stretch which he is referring to, Embiid added four points and three rebounds and shot 1-4 from the floor while splitting a pair of free throws. He also had a costly turnover, one of his three on the night.

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Doc Rivers’ Thoughts

Doc Rivers seemed to brush off the loss more than Embiid during his media availability. As he put it, “The last few possessions, we got good shots. We got Georges a great shot out of a timeout, got Joel a layup out of a timeout, but it was already—I mean, listen, it would’ve been great to steal the game tonight, but they deserved it so much more than us tonight. They played so much harder. Really, I’m just disappointed with how we approached the game tonight,” per Ky Carlin of SixersWire.

To Rivers’ point, the Sixers did not fully deserve to be in the game based on the way they played. Their poor shooting played the biggest role in the loss as the team connected on just 6-31 (19.4%) of their three-point attempts. Georges Niang, who has proven to hit some big three-pointers for the Sixers already this year, came up empty on back-to-back key looks which would have put the Sixers in a positive position. If the team had connected on a handful more and been closer to their 38% average on the year, the game likely shakes out in their favor.

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Collapses a Theme for the Sixers?

As far as blown losses go, this was far from the most egregious effort from this Sixers team. Rivers often carries the reputation of blowing games and this is not fully inaccurate. He is the only coach in NBA history to have more than one blown 3-1 lead in the playoffs on his resume. In fact, Rivers coached three of the 13 teams that have ever been on this poor side of history. The veteran often downplays it and has gone to battle to defend himself regarding this as recently as this year’s training camp.

Many of the records are simply due to the 23 years Rivers has been a head coach, as this is an impressive shelf-life for a high-turnover industry. However, he finds his name linked to many stats that he would rather not. Considered to be one of the NBA’s Top 15 Coaches of All Time, Rivers has the most losses when leading a playoff series and the most Game 7 losses of all time.  His .341 record in closeout games is the worst in NBA history and he currently is on a four-game losing streak in game seven matchups.

To some extent, the criticisms get overblown. Coaches coach and players play so it is great to see Embiid taking the brunt of the responsibility in the most recent loss. However, there are sure to be plenty of eyes on Rivers’ decision-making when it matters most at this season’s conclusion.

There has been a scapegoat in the previous two seasons as Ben Simmons wore the blame for the Hawks’ collapse and Embiid’s injuries put the team in a difficult position last year against the Heat. The excuses have now run out as Philadelphia is all-in with the intention of winning this season. The Sixers still have a ways to go in evolving this season and hopefully Rivers is ready for this challenge.

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