The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that is expected to be in contention to win a title this season as they have a superstar big man, a solid supporting cast, and a head coach who has accomplished a lot on his resume.
However, during Doc Rivers’ time in Philadelphia, he has blown some large leads and Friday was no different.
The Sixers led by as many as 24 on Friday, but then blew the lead in a 102-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at home. To make matters worse, the Clippers were missing both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard so it makes the loss look even worse when considering that fact.
It brought up memories of the Sixers blowing a 26-point lead at home to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of the 2021 East semifinals in what was a disappointing finish. This is not the first time a Rivers-led team has blown a big lead and he was questioned after the game about how much of the loss can be attributed to coaching.
“I don’t know,” said Rivers. “Would you ask Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) that question? No, you wouldn’t. So don’t ask me that question. I’ve earned that.”
Doc Rivers was asked by @NBAKrell what about the loss could be attributed to coaching and he answered: “Would you ask Pop that question? No you wouldn’t. So don’t ask me that question. I’ve earned that.” #Sixers
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) January 22, 2022
Rivers is absolutely right that he has earned a bit of leeway in this league. He has won a ton of games in his career as he helped the Orlando Magic turn things around in the early 2000s, he won a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, he did a helluva job with the Clippers turning them into a constant contender in the West, and he also led the Sixers to their first No. 1 seed in 2021.
However, it does not change the fact that Rivers-led teams have blown a lot of leads in the playoffs. He is not free from blame for Philadelphia’s failures in the 2021 playoffs and he is not free from blame for Friday’s collapse.
He has been able to lead his team through adversity before and he will have to do it again in this situation.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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