Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers were seen as potential NBA title contenders heading into the playoffs. Following a first-round win over the Toronto Raptors, that was magnified even further.
Once Philadelphia won two consecutive games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat to even the series at two, things were looking up.
That did not extend to Game 5 in South Beach with Philadelphia laying a complete egg in a 35-point loss.
Game 6 was pretty much the same story with Rivers having to actually tell his players to put up a fight in what was an elimination game.
Down by as much as 20 in the fourth quarter, said fight never came. It’s a clear knock on Doc Rivers and his ability to coach this team. In the end, the Rivers-led 76ers fell at home to Miami by the score of 99-90.
Joel Embiid struggled to the tune of 7-of-24 shooting. Jmaes Harden attempted all of nine shots while turning the ball over four times. Talk about a disgusting effort from Philadelphia in this one.
Having struggled to have any playoff success since he left the Boston Celtics following the 2012-13 season, Rivers was already on the hot seat before the 76ers were embarrassed over the past two games to see their season end prematurely once again.
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