Harden may be piece Rivers needs for 76ers
Although he’s endured and survived his share of pressure-cooker situations — the 18-game losing streak in 2006-07 in Boston; winning a championship with a stacked team a year later; and all the expectations that came in Los Angeles with the Lob City Clippers — this may be Doc Rivers’s most anxious and tenuous time of his 24-year coaching career.
He was hired to bring the 76ers back to prosperity after the conclusion of
The Process but the franchise has been on a treadmill for years, unable to even reach the conference finals, unable to win with one of the more gifted centers of this generation.
Of course, the failures haven’t been all Doc’s fault. The Sixers’ stunning seven-game conference semifinal loss in 2021 to the Hawks, a team with inferior talent but more togetherness, can be blamed as much on Ben Simmons’s inability to shoot and fourth-quarter collapses as Rivers’s coaching.
Last season, the 76ers entered their conference semifinal against top-seeded Miami with Joel Embiid missing the first two games with an eye injury and James Harden out of shape and unengaged.
This year, Harden has shown up in shape and scored 66 points in Philadelphia’s first two games. Embiid had a rest-and-recover summer with his eye and knee and apparently will take a few weeks to work himself into top condition.
But the 76ers have started 0-2, losing to the Celtics with Embiid not looking like himself and then their home opener to Milwaukee when the offense disappeared down the stretch. The defense has improved, but one more playoff flame-out could mean the end for Rivers. He understands the consequences of losing.
“I never run from [expectations] and they are what they are,” he said. “I know one thing, I sure would rather have them than not. I would rather be in the arena and in the fight and in the conversation. I would rather one of our teams to have a chance to win and I’ve always thought you should embrace it and you have to be up to the challenge.
“Everyone’s not going to win it this year. I’ve heard nine teams already that are contenders, at the end of the year, I guarantee you there will be only one and all the other eight will not do it.”
Rivers is right. At least 10 teams — one third of the league — have a legitimate shot at winning the title: Golden State, Phoenix, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver, Memphis, Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Miami.
The 76ers are going to have to navigate a difficult Eastern Conference that has improved from top to bottom.
Cleveland added Donovan Mitchell. Atlanta traded for Dejounte Murray. Detroit is young and talented and perhaps a few years away from contending. Toronto is always a difficult opponent. And none of those teams are considered title contenders.
“It’s hard to win,” Rivers said. “We were talking about the Dodgers, who won the division by 22 games and they’re out. It’s hard to win. You have to have everything go your way and the teams win, the teams that come together. Those are the teams that win.”
The good news is Harden looks back to his old self. He is scoring like in his Houston days. He’s more aggressive and looks a step quicker. Maybe he just needed a full summer and training camp to adjust, but he’s appeared more engaged — always an issue with Harden — than in past years.
“[Harden] knows what we want out of him,” Rivers said. “He knows our stuff. Our playbook is bigger. He has better rhythm. It’s funny, the games [Harden and Embiid] played, they were No. 1 in the pick-and-roll but we really didn’t have great synergy yet. Every day they’re together, they lead each other. They learn where each other wants it. I think that helps us.”
If Rivers doesn’t return next season, he will remain a sought-after coach but the Celtics title was nearly 15 years ago. He hasn’t been to an NBA Finals since 2010. There will be questions as to whether Rivers still has that magic to motivate a team to greatness.
“What you want is your team to play together, to compete,” he said. “I don’t look back much yet and I still love what I’m doing. I don’t do that often. When I do look back, I look back here [in Boston]. The nine years were amazing and whenever you come throughout the city you feel that energy. The good ones can never be replaced.”
Rivers is banking on the team’s depth. The club added P.J. Tucker, Danuel House Jr., De’Anthony Melton, and Montrezl Harrell to improve scoring in the paint and defense. They held the Bucks to 90 points Thursday after yielding 126 to the Celtics, an encouraging sign.
“I think we’re a better defensive team,” Rivers said. “It may not show right away but it’s clear we have better individual defenders this year than we did last year. It’s no doubt about that. Now we have to turn that into great individual defense, which leads into great team defense.”