It’s that time again to distribute blame for the 16-16 Philadelphia 76ers.
32 games into the season the team has had COVID issues, Ben Simmons issues, and now it seems like they have even more issues. 2021 was supposed to be the season in which the Sixers would look to defend their Eastern Conference title and look to make another run at the NBA Finals. Last year, the Sixers were far and away the best regular season team in the East and were mentioned in the same conversation as the Nets and Bucks.
It turns out that things haven’t happened the way the Sixers had anticipated and the person who gets the most blame in this conversation is Ben Simmons, but Doc Rivers is not far behind him. The East seems to be passing the Sixers by and Doc Rivers has a massive role in that.
It has been very difficult for Rivers to navigate a team through the drama and distractions that the Ben Simmons situation has created. The Sixers have come out flat too many times for Doc River to not catch criticism for that. Rivers said “We approached the game very causal, and we played that way” after his team yet again failed to show up, this time against a depleted Atlanta Hawks team.
If Doc Rivers isn’t able to get his team up for a game, I’m not entirely sure what he is doing well. Rivers isn’t especially good with in game rotations or drawing up plays late in games, so if Rivers can’t motivate his team what is he doing well?
Rivers should look no further than the stadium across the street to watch a coach that knows how to motivate his players. Nick Sirianni has coached a 2-5 Eagles team to an 8-7 record. The Eagles currently sit in a playoff spot after their horrendous start thanks to Siranni’s coaching.
Again, this is a tough situation that the Sixers find themselves in but they have too much talent to be a .500 team this far into the season. They have been flat time and time again and have played unwatchable basketball at times.
For 4 years the Sixers found different ways to win with Ben Simmons now it’s time for them to learn how to win without him. That task is up to Doc Rivers and he’s failed thus far. It’s not too late to turn the season around but the clock is ticking.
Photo via Kamil Krzaczynski USA TODAY Sports
The post Who is to Blame for the Sixers Struggles? appeared first on Philadelphia Sports Nation.