The Philadelphia 76ers are gearing up for a deep playoff run following the blockbuster trade for James Harden.
With Harden and Joel Embiid in the lineup together, the Sixers are being viewed as real title threats, but there are some fans out there who aren’t quite convinced yet.
While the talent of the duo isn’t in question, there are fans out there who believe the weak link could be head coach Doc Rivers. This isn’t the first time Rivers’s coaching has been called into question with the Sixers, and there’s a vocal group of fans out there who think the team would be better off without him.
Rivers was head coach of the Lob City Clippers, and while they saw success in the regular season year after year, they were never able to get over the hump and win a championship. The boiling point came in the NBA bubble where they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets that led to Rivers looking for a new job.
He’s now landed with the Sixers, but fans are already searching for a way out.
Rivers Replaced?
GettyDoc Rivers could be on the way out?
An ESPN article by Ohn Youngmisuk detailing the turnaround the Clippers have seen with Tyronn Lue at the helm led fans to wonder if the same thing could happen in Philadelphia.
“I honestly believe if we fired Doc tomorrow and let [Sam] Cassell take the reins we’d have a better playoff run,” wrote Reddit user MVBiirden.
That might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s clear that some fans are worried that ghosts of Rivers’s past have followed him to the Sixers.
Back in January when the Sixers took on the Clippers, Philadelphia dropped the game and Rivers was forced to address questions that he faced regularly in Los Angeles.
“Embiid scores 11 but only two other Sixers score in the fourth of a 102-101 loss to the Clippers, forcing Doc Rivers, the Clippers’ old coach, to have to answer –and snap at — at a postgame question about how much coaching had to do with the Sixers’ collapse,” wrote Youngmisuk. “Seeing Rivers was a reminder to the Clippers of just how much had changed in 16 months. They spent all of last season determined to bury the bubble.”
It’s all fun and games when he’s the coach of a team that you’re not rooting for, but now that he’s coach of the Sixers, fans are a bit nervous.
“It’s funny how we have 6+ coaches in the org that I would trust more than him,” wrote Reddit user Jambrokio.
Would Cassell Be a Good Fit?
GettySam Cassell, then an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards, during a game in 2009.
Cassell, a back-to-back champion with the Houston Rockets in the ’90s when Michael Jordan retired, and later with Rivers in Boston in 2008, has been a Sixers assistant since 2020.
Previously, he was with Rivers in Los Angeles from 2014-2020, so it’s clear he’s very familiar with the system the team runs. This would presumably make him a good fit if Rivers is let go, but there’s nothing to suggest that will be the case any time soon.
Considering Cassell has been an assistant in the league for so long, it does seem very possible he could get a head coaching gig at some point, but Sixers fans shouldn’t be banking on it to be with them, at least not right now.
READ NEXT: Lakers Sharpshooter Fuels Sixers Rumors: ‘This Pretty A** City’
Comments
Fans Urge Sixers to Fire Doc Rivers, Replace Him With 3-Time NBA Champion