With rumors now swirling within their camp after another painful elimination, Joel Embiid still maintains that faith in Doc Rivers’ capabilities to lead them at the top.
Moments after the Philadelphia 76ers collapsed in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series, Embiid was full of praise on what Rivers has done for the club this year.
“As far as my coach, I thought he’s done a fantastic job,” Embiid said of Rivers. “He came in, I think we’ve gotten better over the years. I thought he’s done a great job and I don’t make the decisions.
“I think he should be fine. We got a great relationship and you look at the way he handled the whole situation that we had a year or two ago, I thought he kept the team afloat. He’s been a great leader for all of us. A great motivator.
“But you look at what’s happening around the league, it’s tough. But then again, I’m glad I don’t make those decisions.”
Rivers has been the 76ers’ head coach for the last three seasons, but all of them aren’t as productive as they have hoped. Amid registering a 154-82 regular season record on the said span, Philadelphia hasn’t been able to get through the postseason hump and clinch that elusive Conference Finals ticket that they’ve been chasing since 2001.
Plenty of teams around the league already made headlines after firing their head coaches this season. The Toronto Raptors decided to move on from Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer was dismissed by the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Phoenix Suns just recently cut their ties with Monty Williams.
