The Philadelphia 76ers are still continuing on with their coaching search to replace Brett Brown who was fired on August 24 after seven seasons at the helm. The list of candidates grew on Monday as former Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers joined the list.
Rivers is a good coach who has had a ton of success in the league, but he was let go after the Clippers blew a 3-1 lead in the semifinals to the Denver Nuggets. However, just because he blew the 3-1 lead, it does not mean that he is not a good coach in the league. The Sixers could use influence like him and there are three reasons why.
1.) He’s a leader
Rivers has been involved in a lot of controversy throughout his time with the Clippers. He had to deal with the Donald Sterling saga in 2014 and guide his team through all of that, he kept his team together after they traded away veteran Tobias Harris at the deadline in 2019, and he guided his team through a pandemic as well as a lot of racial injustices in the world. He is as tough as they come.
In Philadelphia, Josh Richardson voiced concern about a lack of accountability on the team under Brown. Rivers would make sure he leads the team and he has the attention of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. He has a lot of experience with stars such as Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George.
2.) He’s good with X’s and O’s
During his time with the Clippers, Rivers would make a lot of adjustments throughout the game to make sure his team was running smoothly. Sure, his team blew a 3-1 lead to Denver in the playoffs, but their offense was running well, their guys just missed shots. Los Angeles was in the top 10 in offensive rating during the entirety of his career with them.
In Philadelphia, he would be able to get the offense running through Embiid and Simmons and get the most out of them. Of course, the front office still needs to get the right pieces around the two of them, but Rivers would be able to find a way to get them to succeed. He even mentioned in the past that Al Horford is a good fit for the team.
3.) He has experience coaching big games
A lot of people will point to the 3-1 leads blown in both 2020 and 2015 with the Clippers, but he does have a title on his resume leading the Boston Celtics to the playoffs in 2008. In that run, Boston had to overcome going to Game 7 in Rounds 1 and 2, knocking off a veteran Detroit Pistons team, and then corralling Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. He then got them back to the Finals in 2010 before falling in Game 7 to those same Lakers.
In Philadelphia, Rivers would be a guy who can lead the team, keep them calm, and have them focused on the task at hand. The Sixers could benefit from a guy like that to be able to push forward and get back on track after a tough season. [lawrence-related id=37964,37959,37843]