Getty Head coach Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts against the Miami Heat during the first half in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at FTX Arena on May 02, 2022 in Miami, Florida.
It has become crystal clear that fans of the Philadelphia 76ers have had enough of Doc Rivers. Complaints regarding the head coach can be seen throughout social media, heard on talk shows, and felt throughout the pulse of Sixers fans. The disappointing 5-6 start to the season has everyone searching for blame and Rivers has an easy target on his back. His stale rotations, lack of creativity in the offense, and frustration over the repeated mistakes have driven fans mad.
However, it is not as simple of an issue of firing Rivers and all the Sixers’ problems will be fixed. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer recently laid this out in an article where he stated that the veteran head coach would be nothing more than a fall guy.
Joel Embiid & James Harden Can’t Play Together?
The biggest crux of Pompey’s argument was that the problems with the Sixers lie deeper than the head coach. He pointed to flaws in the roster starting right at the top with the two biggest stars. As he put it, “Doc Rivers has perhaps the NBA’s toughest coaching job. He’s leading a 76ers squad that has high expectations despite the fact that Joel Embiid and James Harden, their All-Star tandem, don’t fit.”
The article reinforced this message later on by stating, “This is a tough team to coach, because the styles of Embiid and Harden don’t mix. Harden is ball-dominant and has made a career of thriving in isolation plays. Embiid, a perennial All-Star, is at his best when the Sixers play through him. He’s mostly been out of sync and had poor body language while playing alongside Harden this season.”
While the complaints regarding Embiid’s body language hold weight, the comments about the mismatched styles don’t. Yes, both players are ball-dominant, but their two-man game (especially in pick-and-roll) is among the most elite of any NBA duo. Harden’s brilliance with the basketball has created open looks for Embiid in a way that has not been the case throughout his entire career.
James Harden’s pocket passing makes things so much easier for Joel Embiid in pick-and-rolls. Such a dangerous combination.
Lineups featuring the duo scored 122.7 points per 100 possessions in 603 regular-season minutes last season. This ranked fifth amongst the 42 duos in the NBA to log at least 500 minutes after the All-Star break. Part of the appeal of the duo is both are capable of getting a basket on their own as well. Harden’s gravity oftentimes creates a mismatch for Embiid which allows him to capitalize. The MVP runner-up ranked in the 77th percentile in points per post-up and the 69th percentile in isolation last season.
There have been whispers of Embiid being unhappy serving as a roller, but the stats do not indicate an unwillingness. Embiid is leading the NBA in possessions as a roller this season by nearly double the next-highest rate. He is recording 7.3 possessions as the roll man so far this season. The next highest across the league is Bam Adebayo at 4.4 possessions per game. During Embiid’s possessions as a roller, he is recording 1.18 points per possession and 8.6 points per game. He also is getting to the free-throw line at a 25.5% rate. It will be interesting to see how this number changes during Harden’s absence, but this is by far the most often Embiid has served as a roller in his career.
James Harden and Joel Embiid developed strong pick-and-roll chemistry so quickly last season.
They’re a super efficient PnR duo and could easily be even better next season once they’ve had more time together.
A few highlights from 2021-22:
Rivers himself fanned the flames of the two-man potential leading up to the season. As he put it during training camp “Still, we gotta get better. I mean, James was only here for 20 games. Even though, statistically, in the 24 games that we played, James and Joel were the number-one pick-and-roll combination, I think they have a long way to go. I think, as good as they were, if it was an eight, we can get that to a ten. I just think that combination should be absolutely dominant. And I think it’s really good, but I think it should be dominant,” per Austin Krell of The Painted Lines.
Other Roster Flaws
The article also pointed to issues beyond the superstars. As Pompey wrote, “P.J. Tucker, the team’s top offseason acquisition, is a vocal leader, but he has struggled on the defensive end. It could be a result of not fully being recovered from offseason knee surgery, getting used to the Sixers’ scheme, or just a product of being 37 years old…The Sixers also signed Montrezl Harrell as the backup center. Though undersized at 6-foot-7, he can provide instant offense. However, he’s not afraid to voice his displeasure when things aren’t going his way. The team misses the luxury of having solid backup centers like Andre Drummond and Dwight Howard at its disposal. And the roster doesn’t have a true backup point guard the Sixers could elevate to the starting lineup with Harden sidelined.”
While none of these statements are directly untrue, it is not painted in the proper light. Tucker has looked overmatched at times but is being asked to play a role beyond what should be the case. The 37-year-old has been tasked with matching up with the opposing team’s top scorer on a near-nightly basis. While his versatile defense is one of the selling points for the veteran, tasking him with guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum on consecutive nights is a difficult task for anyone. Asking the 6’5″ Tucker to attempt to match up with 7’3″ Kristaps Porzingis also was a failure to put him in the right spot and produced the expected results.
This can be attributed to roster issues, but it should be noted that Rivers kept Matisse Thybulle, who has cracked two All-NBA Defensive Second Teams already in his career, on the bench for under six total minutes through the first five games. Thybulle has seen his role grow since this time, and made a positive impact in these minutes, but is still averaging a career-low 10.4 minutes per game. De’Anthony Melton has been the bright spot of the new additions and did a terrific job guarding Devin Booker in the Sixers’ previous win. Making use of these players on the defensive end could allow Tucker to look more comfortable overall.
De’Anthony Melton has been quite the welcomed addition for the Sixers thus far
Montrezl Harrell has been disappointing thus far in his Sixers career, but Daryl Morey directly credited Rivers for being responsible for joining the team while on the Right to Ricky Sanchez podcast. The head coach has also stubbornly played Harrell over Paul Reed while the Sixers have struggled greatly on the defensive end. This changed in the team’s most recent victory over the Suns, where Reed soaked up all the backup big man minutes.
Following the game, Rivers showered the third-year big man with praise stating, “I loved Paul’s defense and his energy.” It is still a small sample size, but Reed is averaging a ridiculous 6.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes on the season. While he has not played enough minutes to register on the top charts, the 83.1 individual defensive rating is an elite figure.
Serving as Head Coach of the 76ers is not a perfect job. There is plenty of pressure that comes with coaching in Philadelphia as well as the high expectations that the talent on this roster dictates. However, many other coaches would love to be able to work with two perennial all-stars and a rising star in Tyrese Maxey.
There is plenty of blame to go around but the fact that the Sixers have underperformed to start the season is undeniable. The recent victory over the Suns is a great building block to begin turning the season around, but there is plenty of work to do. As Embiid stated, “our season started tonight.” Hopefully, Rivers and the rest of the organization are on the same page, take ownership of this, and the team can begin growing into the contenders they are capable of being.