Rumor: 76ers players are getting annoyed with Doc Rivers
The Philadelphia 76ers lost a tough game to the Milwaukee Bucks 118-116 in South Philly. It was a game that they probably should have one, but instead, it ended in familiar fashion with the Sixers blowing a double digit lead.
Joel Embiid had 29 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists. Tobias Harris finished with a double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. James Harden scored 32 points and dished out nine assists. Even with Embiid and Harden combining for 61 points, unfortunately it wasn’t enough against Giannis, who recorded 40 points on 16-for-24 shooting, adding 14 rebounds, six assists, and a few big blocks on the night.
After the loss, Joel Embiid seemed frustrated with the Doc Rivers and the coaching decisions made during the game when speaking with the media.
Embiid postgame on Doc Rivers and coaching decisions
“I was on the bench the whole time. When I was on the floor, I really made sure that I was always there to help.”
“We didn’t build a wall, and [Giannis] had a lot of frree time to just attack and get whatever he wanted, and that changed the game. Maybe next time we just match up the minutes.”
Wosny Lambre (hell of a name) from The Ringer, then revealed additional information about the “Philly-Milwaukee fallout” on the latest episode of the Ringer NBA Show.
“Some of the Sixers aren’t feeling Doc. I ran into somebody who’s close to the Sixers when they were in LA. I told them I couldn’t pick them to make the finals. They said, “neither would I.”
From there a ton of media outlets picked this up and ran with it, stating that there are several players within the 76ers locker room that are annoyed with Doc Rivers.
While I rarely trust reports coming from a friend of a friend, or by The Ringer in general, I have little-to-no doubt that this is probably true. Doc Rivers is extremely frustrating at times and when you have Joel Embiid talking postgame with the media about how he was literally frustrated with being on the bench and the rotations used during the game against the Bucks, it’s pretty easy to come out and state something like this and have it be correct.
Anyone who watches the 76ers realizes that Rivers is the problem. His rotations have, and continue to hurt the Sixers, even more so in big games and tight situations. Take those and pair them with the James Harden and Mike D’Antoni rumors, and it’s not hard to see this being Rivers’ last season if the 76ers don’t make significant noise in the playoffs this year.
Mandatory Credit: Getty Images
[…] complain about Doc Rivers as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. On top of that, there were rumors last week that even Sixers’ players were upset with Rivers coaching […]