The Philadelphia 76ers fired Doc Rivers after blowing — another — 3-1 lead in the playoffs. He’s blown the most 3-1 series leads (3) in NBA playoff history, something that has happened just 13 times.
Nonetheless, the Milwaukee Bucks still thought he was the right guy to take the reins of the team after Adrian Griffin’s dismissal. Unsurprisingly, Rivers didn’t even need a couple of hours to think about it.
Rivers will get $40 million for the next three and a half years with the team. Unfortunately, he’s not likely to lead them to another NBA championship. At least, according to former All-Star Gilbert Arenas.
Gilbert Arenas Says Doc Rivers Isn’t A Good Coach
“He doesn’t adjust well,” Arenas explained. “If you beat him by going left, he won’t adjust to that. So you’re going to beat his ass the same way every single time because he won’t adjust. I knew something was wrong with him when this happened: it was Clippers vs Houston, they were up 3-1. The coach said, ‘We’re gonna hack DeAndre Jordan.’ And he copied it every single time.”
The former Washington Wizards star questioned Rivers’ ability to make the most of his players and make adjustments, which is something he has been highly questioned for in the past:
“He doesn’t come in with a new system,” Arenas added. “He’s just gonna say, ‘You keep doing what you all gonna do, and I’m just gonna be out here subbing.‘ The sad part is, name a point guard that he had that he put in a great situation. You did have Ben Simmons, a 6’11” point guard, and you did not do one pick-and-roll with him and Embiid. Good luck.”
Aside from that run with the Boston Celtics, Rivers has failed to make the most of the plethora of talent he’s had the priviledge to coach. Hopefully, this will be the exception to that rule.
SURVEY Was Rivers the right guy for the job?
Was Rivers the right guy for the job?
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