The Philadelphia 76ers will have a challenging final 24 games heading into the playoffs in April. While their spot in the postseason seems pretty safe, the Sixers will have to figure out how to best work James Harden into their roster and game plan.
The man who will be tasked for this job is coach Doc Rivers who had a similar challenge when he was coach of the Boston Celtics. He had to find a way to make it work with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen all out on the floor together and they won a title in their first season together. While Rivers understands that the Sixers are an obviously different situation, the point still remains.
The Sixers will have to figure out how to make it work with Harden and Joel Embiid and according to veteran NBA insider Marc Stein via his Substack, the Sixers believe Rivers is the man for the job:
The 76ers are adamant that they believe Doc Rivers is the right coach to oversee the Joel Embiid/James Harden partnership and end the club’s championship drought, according to one source with knowledge of Philadelphia’s thinking. The Sixers haven’t won it all in nearly four decades since 1982-83 … and my previous This Week In Basketball column noted that chatter about an eventual run at Mike D’Antoni in the wake of the Harden trade is already making the rounds in league coaching circles. The source, though, insisted Rivers has won considerable admiration from his bosses this season thanks to Philly’s (and particularly Embiid’s) strong play with the Simmons Saga hanging over the franchise.
Rivers has done a remarkable job considering everything that has transpired in the 2021-22 season. The Sixers have been dealing with injuries, COVID issues, and, of course, the Ben Simmons issue, and yet they are 35-23 and sitting as the No. 3 seed in the East. Now, he has to find out how to make it work with Harden and Embiid on the floor.
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