Doc Rivers Explains Why Joel Embiid Disappointed In The Playoffs

Doc Rivers left the Philadelphia 76ers a couple of weeks ago following another disappointing elimination in the Second Round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. 

The veteran coach has broken his silence on his tenure with the Sixers, talking about his two best players. Rivers explained why Joel Embiid has struggled so much to make an impact during the playoffs, first blaming his injuries. 

“Number one, he has to be healthy,” Rivers said about Embiid on the Bill Simmons podcast, via Heavy. “If you look at his numbers in the last three years in the playoffs, compared to his regular season numbers, they’re not very good… The first year I had him, he hurts his knee. The next year, he hits his face and tears ligaments in his hand, and then this year he has a knee injury and he was never the same once he came back this year. So health is No. 1.”

Moreover, he dove deeper and said that Embiid must make those around him better, but he hasn't tried hard enough to do so. If he unlocks this tool, Rivers believe things will get a lot better for Embiid. 

“Number two for Jo is he’s got to make all his players better in the playoffs,” Rivers said. “He has the ability to make his teammates better and when he does it, if you look at our games this year when he did that and dominated, hard to go away from Joel Embiid. It really is. He’s just got to do that on a consistent basis. Not just on the court, but also off the court. Just be around the guys and spend time with your guys and let them know that you love them because they love you.”

During his nine-year tenure with the Sixers, Embiid has never played in the Eastern Conference Finals. This appeared to be the season for him, but the lack of consistency hurt his chances to make it past the Second Round for the first time in his career. 

He's set to start a new chapter with Nick Nurse as the head coach now, but if they fail to make a deep playoff run, Embiid could be traded in 2024. 

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Doc Rivers Criticized James Harden's Style Of Play After Leaving Sixers 

Rivers has been very active in talking about his former players. He first talked about James Harden, saying it was challenging to coach the 2018 NBA MVP for his style of play and how different it was from what Rivers wanted to create with Philly. 

Harden was reportedly involved in the firing of Rivers, so it's easy to assume there's no love between these two. Still, the guard's future is up in the air, while Rivers is jobless after every coaching vacancy was filled. 

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