"Sixers" coach Doc Rivers absolved his bench and blamed James Harden for the 4th Q meltdown and loss in Motown last night,
“Well, [the bench] didn’t struggle,…They didn’t get a lot of shots in their defense. I think during that stretch, it was more James than them.
Doc Rivers looks a bit befuddled by it all...
HE DOES! Doc is usually so on top of things during a game and he seems confused now. Throwing Beard under the bus is not Doc at all. He's taking out his frustrations with his own dumb-ass rotation decisions on Beard.
...now it’s evident that there are chemistry issues...At this point, the Philadelphia 76ers are an enigma...
They ARE an enigma. More on the chemistry issues below.
Doc Rivers and company have to think fast...
They DO have to think fast.
Tuesday night in another 4th Q meltdown and loss at home to Beer, Doc said:
"I thought offensively we really just stood around...we just played outside and didn't move the ball as a group...We were awful in the first half, too. We played with very
little life tonight, didn't play together tonight at all. That's
something we've been doing..."
Hold on, Doc. Lifeless?
When Joel Embiid checked out of the game in the third quarter Tuesday night between the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, his team led 82-72 with 3:37 remaining in the period. It was mostly a back-and-forth game all night, but the Sixers got out to a double-digit lead and were in prime position to secure the win.
But then two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo rattled off the next 15 points for the Bucks to close the deficit to 91-87 with 10:36 left in the fourth quarter. Embiid subbed back into the game shortly after Giannis' ridiculous offensive outburst...
That's 5:01 of playing time Embiid sat--while Giannis scored 15 in a row.Joel Embiid stated the obvious:
"The game really changed when I went on the bench. I didn't think we did [a good enough job] at the end of that third quarter, beginning of the fourth. Their best player scored 17 points in a row or whatever that was.
When asked what the Sixers could've done differently to slow down Giannis, Embiid said it didn't help he was on the bench during Antetokounmpo's entire run.
"I mean, I was on the bench the whole
time," Embiid said. "When I was on the floor, I really made sure I was
always there to help. I thought we didn't follow up that strategy...and he had a lot of freedom to just attack and get
whatever he wanted. That changed the game. Maybe next time, just match
up the minutes."
Matching Embiid's minutes with Antetokounmpo's is Philadelphia's best answer at trying to slow the reigning Finals MVP...
It's ludicrous even to have to state it. It's like Doc brain buffered, you know when your 'puter buffers and the game freezes and then it completes buffering and you're snapped back to real time but have lost like five minutes and one second? Like that.
And so duh:
Some Philadelphia 76ers players are ‘not feeling’ head coach Doc Rivers
...Doc Rivers is in his second season with the team, but he reportedly may not have a ton of support in the locker room.
“I’m hearing guys are not feeling Doc,” [Wosny] Lambre [NBA insider]. “And his rotations, his philosophy, what he’s doing — guys aren’t feeling it.”
There it is, his rotations. Doc seems, yeah, befuddled about how to use guys and not use them. You know, this is really not rocket science. YOUR FIVE BEST GUYS! Play 'em until they absolutely need a blow. Don't get stuck to rigid philosophies: "I will take Embiid out with 3'-4' left in the 3rd and I will sub in back in after 1-2 minutes of the 4th, I don't care how many points Giannis scores!"
