Same Old Doc
Doc Rivers once again chokes in the playoffs. His top seeded Philadelphia 76ers lose game 7 at home to the five seed Atlanta Hawks tonight. There might not be a worse postseason coach over the last 25+ years of basketball than Doc Rivers.
The only year he won anything was in 2008 when he had four All Stars in his starting lineup which included Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, fully healthy and still in there primes.
Since then, he has had some great teams, loaded with talent and has nothing to show for it except 13 years of embarrassing postseason loses and blown opportunities.
Around here in Boston we think Brad Stevens has underachieved the last six years and he has, but at least the Celtics have been to three conference championships. Doc Rivers has had arguably better teams and hasn’t even made it to one conference championship since leaving Boston.
Here’s a breakdown of how his playoff appearances have faired since 2007-08:
2008-09: With Celtics, up 3-2 on Magic in second round, loses next two games including game 7 at home.
2009-10: With Celtics, up 3-2 on Lakers in NBA Finals and loses games 6 & 7.
2010-11: With Celtics, loses 4-1 to Heat in second round.
2011-12: With Celtics, up 3-2 on Heat in Eastern Conference Finals, gets blown out at home in game 6 and loses game 7.
2012-13: With Celtics, loses to Knicks in first round.
2013-14: With Clippers, loses to Thunder in second round.
2014-15: With Clippers, loses to Rockets in second round.
2015-16: With Clippers, up 2-0 on Trail Blazers in first round, loses next four and the series.
2016-17: With Clippers, loses game 7 at home to Jazz in first round.
2018-19: With Clippers, loses to Warriors in first round.
2019-20: With Clippers, up 3-1 on Nuggets in second round, loses three straight and the series.
2020-21: With 76ers, loses game 7 at home to Hawks in second round.
I called this when the 76ers hired Doc. The 76ers were losers to begin with and adding Doc was just going to magnify their issues. If there’s an organization and coach that are perfect for each other it’s Doc and the 76ers.
Doc is a loser, he was a loser in Orlando, he wasn’t exactly a loser in Boston but he underachieved, he was a big time loser in LA and he’s already a loser in Philadelphia.
There are reasons to like Doc, he’s a good guy, he’s professional, and I thought he was pretty good coach when he was here in Boston but his track record is hard to ignore. He was fortunate to win that championship in 2008 or his resume would look really bad, at least he broke through once.
Doc is a decent coach, he’ll get you to the playoffs but if you’re looking to win a championship, he’s not the guy for the job.