76ers’ Head Coach Doc Rivers On The Hot Seat In Philadelphia

Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach Doc Rivers’ job could be in jeopardy following the team’s disappointing 5-7 start.

While Rivers has been facing criticism for years, the slow start to the 2022-2023 NBA season has put him back on the proverbial hot seat.

The 76ers began the season with championship aspirations but have gotten off to a slow start. Philadelphia currently sits in 12th place in the East standings and fans are starting to grow impatient as several of the problems seem directly tied to Rivers’ coaching.

As a result, many believe that Rivers is set to get fired.

In fact, Bill Simmons said on a podcast with Zach Lowe that the 76ers’ coach would be the first to get fired this season.

Obviously, that simply won’t be the case. As many NBA fans know, Steve Nash was let go from the Brooklyn Nets a few weeks ago after a disastrous start.

It seems like Rivers will be the next head coach to be replaced if the 76ers can’t take a step in the right direction.

76ers’ Offense Has No Rhythm

Despite having several talented players on the roster, the 76ers offense has not been running smoothly.

Theoretically, the addition of James Harden should have increased the number of east scoring opportunities on the floor, but that hasn’t been the case.

Instead, the 76ers’ offense has been stagnant.

While Harden is one of the best isolation players in the league, the 76ers offense has been slow and unimaginative at best..

Harden has often been the scapegoat for the team’s struggles but that narrative is beginning to change.

Now with Harden out, the Sixers are struggling to score and all signs point to Doc Rivers being the real problem in Philadelphia.

76ers Defense Under Rivers

The 76ers have the 19th ranked overall defense and their transition defense has been awful.

It seems like the 76ers aren’t trying hard enough and there is a lack of effort to get back on defense, especially on the fast break.

According to Cleaning the Glass, the 76ers are ranked 26th in the league in points added in transition.

While some things, like hot 3-point shooting, is out of Philadelphia’s control, the lack of effort on defense is a tell-tale sign that Rivers is no longer connecting with his players.

If Rivers’ can’t get his team back on the right track defensively, he might be looking for a new job by Christmas.

Are 76ers Players Tuning Out Their Head Coach

Since the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Rivers has been getting backlash for his lineup choices and that’s continued into the 2022-23 regular season.

However, that’s just the beginning of the problem.

While the lack of execution is evident throughout the Sixers games, the players themselves seem to be tuning out Rivers altogether.

The roster isn’t listening to Rivers’ instructions on the sidelines and his ability to relate to players seems to be going awry.

With championship-caliber talent on the roster, if Rivers can turn this ship around, his days will surely be numbered in Philadelphia.