Getty Head coach Doc Rivers and James Harden #1 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Philadelphia 76ers were dealt a rough hand after James Harden suffered a foot sprain last week against the Washington Wizards. Now, with Harden out for likely a month, the Sixers will have to trudge on and figure out a way to turn around a disturbingly slow start to the season.
But is it possible the Sixers made Harden’s injury worse? Sure, the initial results came back more positive than expected, but let’s not forget that head coach Doc Rivers put Harden back out on the floor after he went into the locker room to be evaluated. This, after already overplaying Harden to start the season. According to Dave Early of Liberty Ballers, the Sixers really messed this one up.
“So it’s my opinion that it was far too aggressive to let Harden stay atop the NBA total minutes leaders, consistently playing 37 minutes per game, especially facing one of the NBA’s busiest schedules (more games in less days than many) while Embiid was in and out of action.
“And knowing he was taking on so much already, it was wayyyyyy too aggressive to allow him to come back into a game to play on this apparently sprained foot, after receiving all the attention back in the locker room.“
It’s not the first time Rivers has come under fire for keeping a star player in, only to have it backfire.
Harden’s Situation Eerily Reminiscent of Embiid’s
Just a few months ago, the Sixers looked like a lock to make the Eastern Conference Finals. The team was firing on all cylinders and was easily dispatching a young and scrappy Toronto Raptors team. And then something strange happened in the closeout Game Six: Embiid was left in with the team up 29 points and three minutes left to go.
And most fans know what happened next: Embiid took an errant elbow to the face from Pascal Siakam, which turned into a facial fracture that forced Embiid out of the Sixers’ first two games against the Miami Heat in the next round.
Afterward, Rivers caught flak for leaving Embiid in the game when it was very clearly over. But Rivers explained himself away by essentially telling reporters that the other team did the same thing, so why shouldn’t he?
“The other team had all their guys in… I’m not upset that he was in. You can make that a big deal if you want.”
Doc Rivers on why Joel Embiid was in the game with the Sixers up 29 points with 4 minutes left.
(via @TomMoorePhilly)
It’s just another example of Rivers mismanaging games and failing to take a longer view of the season. Though Philadelphia is off to a slow start, how can the team count on guys like James Harden and PJ Tucker to last into the playoffs if they’re adding too many miles this early?
But Rivers believes another factor is to blame for Philadelphia’s poor start to the season.
Rivers: ‘Communication’ is Key
Two weeks ago, Rivers opened up about what’s limiting the Sixers this season.
“Communication. We gotta get on the same page. Sometimes it’s extremely hard to get on the same page, but as long as we keep talking to each other—you gotta step in the same direction. Talk to each other, know what we’re doing, know when we’re switching, when we’re not switching. It’s gonna come with trust and trusting each other and just communication as it keeps building throughout the season.”
While communication might be the buzzword du jour, it’s fair to wonder which one will come next. Effort? Perserverance? My money is on “resilience,” which has 10-1 odds on FanDuel right now. Just kidding.