Now that the Sixers employed Doc Rivers as their new head coach to come in and make it work, pressure will install on Phillys famous superstar duo.
On the daily Locked On NBA Podcast, hosts Wes Goldberg (Locked On Warriors) and David Ramil (Locked On Heat) talk about the Sixers hiring of Doc Rivers and why his talk about Embiid and Simmons already have them concerned.
Wes Goldberg: Doc Rivers was presented as the head coach of the 76ers on Monday and he stated, of a mismatched Sixers roster, “I do not get lost in what position guys play. He included that the duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons “clearly works when they play together.”
Now, this is worrying to me, David, due to the fact that if you take a look at Docs track record of coaching star duos, its fair to say that he hasnt gotten the most out of them. So, for him to state that Embiid and Simmons clearly work when clearly it does not work … It works enough as far as the Sixers won a lot of video games, but that to me has actually always been the M.O of Doc Rivers. If youre training Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, and DeAndre Jordan on the Clippers for a time period, they won a bunch of games due to the fact that of the large skill that they had. I dont believe anyone is sitting here believing that he optimized that talent. We were discussing and discussing at that time how Blake Griffin should be playing more center and he shouldnt be so married to giving DeAndre Jordan many minutes per game and all that. If he were a bit more positive and progressive, I believe that you could have seen a more modern version of what of maybe like what Blake Griffin is making with Detroit now as far as shooting 3s and doing all those things. Obviously, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George … assisted make each other much better. Its simply sort of a my-turn-your-turn thing. I do believe that a few of that has to lie with Doc Rivers too. Im not persuaded based on his track record, though he does tend to relate to his stars really well and does get enough out of roleplayers, and does appear to just get along with those star players and keep them happy. Im not convinced that he is going to have the ability to maximize Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons fit in an imaginative way,
David Ramil: I will go an action further and state that already the first day into this, this has actually been a catastrophe for the Sixers. He is not a fantastic fit there.
Wes Goldberg: Doc Rivers was presented as the head coach of the 76ers on Monday and he said, of a mismatched Sixers lineup, “I do not get lost in what position guys play. He added that the duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons “clearly works when they play together.”
For him to state that Embiid and Simmons clearly work when plainly it does not work … It works enough as far as the Sixers won a bunch of video games, but that to me has actually always been the M.O of Doc Rivers.
The Philadelphia 76ers have an odd pairing in their 2 stars, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Their fit on the court is not perfect and they are, at the minimum, indifferent about each other off the court. Now that the Sixers worked with Doc Rivers as their new head coach to come in and make it work, pressure will install on Phillys famous super star duo.
