Tuesday, March 19, 2024

76ers cut ties with Doc Rivers after another playoff collapse

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The Philadelphia 76ers have failed to reach expectations once again. The 76ers were considered by many pundits as one of the favorites to win the NBA Championship.

As a result, head coach Doc Rivers has been fired from his job.

Former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers looks on during Game 7 against the Boston Celtics of the 2023 NBA playoffs
Doc Rivers looks on during Game 7 against the Boston Celtics of the 2023 NBA playoffs (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 76ers were blown out by the Boston Celtics on Sunday in Game 7. Philadelphia has now dropped three straight playoff series in Game 7.

The Celtics won 112-88 over the 76ers on May 14th.

In their biggest game of the season, Philadelphia’s two biggest stars did now show up. Joel Embiid, the league’s MVP, had just 15 points in 38 minutes.

James Harden had just nine points in 40 minutes. They was no fight in these two players as the team’s season was on the line.

The team has not reached the NBA Finals since 2001. And that was the last time that the team also reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Throughout his coaching career, Rivers’ teams have collapsed after leading in the playoffs dating back to 2003. He has lost 10 Game 7s in his career.

Twice he had the 76ers up in a playoff series. In 2020, the 76ers blew a 3-1 lead. Then, in the series with the Celtics, the 76ers blew a 3-2 lead.

Rivers has been the 76ers’ head coach for the past three seasons. He was 154-82 as their head coach during the regular season.

This past season, the team went 54-28 during the regular season. This earned the 76ers the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers swept the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. However, in the second round, they were defeated by the aforementioned Celtics.

The long-time head coach has gone 1,097-763 during the regular season with the Orlando Magic, Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and the 76ers. However, in the postseason, he is 111-104 with one NBA Championship to his resume.

He guided the 2007-08 Celtics team to the NBA Championship over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The believed front-runner for the job is Monty Williams. He is a former 76ers player, who also spent one season as an assistant coach before being hired by the Phoenix Suns in May 2019.

Williams was fired by the Suns on Saturday night.

Other candidates may include Mike Budenholzer, who was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks after their first-round exit to the Miami Heat. Nick Nurse, who was also fired by the Toronto Raptors after their season concluded.

Budenholzer and Nurse have guided the Bucks and Raptors to the NBA Championship within the past five seasons.

© 2007-2024 The Capital Sports Report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed.

Anthony Caruso III
Anthony Caruso IIIhttps://thecapitalsportsreport.com
Anthony Caruso III is the Publisher of The Capital Sports Report. He has been in the Journalism field since August 2002. Since that time, Mr. Caruso has covered many marquee events. This includes 13 Heisman Trophy ceremonies, 2 Little World Series events, and one Army-Navy College Football game.
Latest news
Related news

You cannot copy content of this page