Getty Doc Rivers head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Things are not going according to plan for the Philadelphia 76ers. At 1-4, Philadelphia has a lone win against the lottery darlings Indiana Pacers. But in each of Philadelphia’s losses, a lack of energy, interest, and defense torpedoed any chance the Sixers had at winning. Soon, the Sixers are going to need a scapegoat.
Enter Doc Rivers.
It’s not just that Rivers’ system and players look uninspiring. It’s not only that Rivers is keeping the starters on the court for 40 minutes per game. It’s not only that the defense is non-existent. It’s all of that. And more. And according to Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, Rivers’ seat is warming by the second, with a lot of “second-guessing” going on in the front office.
“They’re not getting what they expected out of that bench, which they rebuilt with (De’Anthony) Melton and (Danuel) House and Montrezl Harrell” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “There is some frustration with the offense, but the defense has been terrible, and they’re not using (Matisse) Thybulle. They can’t stop anybody in transition, and that is an effort thing—that is on Doc. They look lifeless sometimes. But there are other things. Are they moving the ball enough? Are they getting (Tyrese) Maxey involved enough? All of that does not fall to Doc Rivers, but he will have to answer for some of the problems with this roster, coaches always do.”
I am officially in “rooting for the Sixers to lose until they fire Doc” mode
But it’s not enough for the Sixers to relieve Rivers of his coaching duties. They have to have someone in place who can lead the team in his absence.
Fortunately, the Sixers might have just the people.
76ers in ‘a Good Position’ to Move on From Doc Rivers
If Philadelphia moved on from Rivers, who would take his place? It’s a fair question, and one that the executive who Deveney spoke with had an answer for.
“When you are thinking about coaching changes, you have to think about what you’re going to change to, and they could be in a good position—they have Sam Cassell, who a lot of people feel is ready for a head coaching job, on the bench and Dave Joerger, too. There’s also the talk about Mike D’Antoni going back to coaching (James) Harden, so that is going to be out there as well.”
Though Cassell has never held a head coaching gig before, his name has come up for open gigs in the past. Over the summer, Cassell interviewed for the open Utah Jazz job that ultimately went to Celtics assistant Will Hardy.
Joerger, for his part, does have head coaching experience, though it isn’t the most inspiring of histories. Between 2013 and 2019, Joerger spent three seasons apiece with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies. Over that span, he went to the playoffs three times, all with Memphis. His overall record as a head coach is 245-247.
If the Sixers did move on from Rivers, it would mirror a move made by another local team earlier this year.
Sixers Owner ‘Disappointed’ By Slow Start
Over the weekend, Sixers owner Josh Harris told reporters he was “disappointed” about the team’s slow start, but hoped they might rebound in short order.
“We’re all in on the season, I think we have a lot of talent and we’re together as an organization.. this is our year,” Harris said. “Games four through 82 await us.”
“Obviously we are very disappointed with our start. There are lots of examples, including one in Philly called the Phillies where people have started a little slow and have come back.”
It’s an interesting choice invoking the Phillies here. After Philadelphia got off to a 22-27 malaise of a start, the front office fired Joe Girardi and replaced him with Rob Thomson. Since then, the Phillies have ridden their new manager’s philosophy all the way to the World Series.
Whether Rivers is headed for the same treatment remains to be seen.