The Challenges of Coaching James Harden: Doc Rivers Speaks Out

Who says another defeat in the Playoffs in Philadelphia, says a host of crisp statements. After already a good batch following the elimination against the Celtics in the semi-finals of the conference, Doc Rivers adds a layer by admitting that coaching James Harden was far from easy. So, extenuating circumstances or the Doc’s new excuse?

How not to qualify this new season of the Process as a failure. After years of struggling to make their way to the top of the East, Joel Embiid’s band has always been rejected by the Conference Finals bouncer. But this year, with the arrival of a bearded man who was not bad at the basket ball, the Sixers were expected at the turn of the 2023 Playoffs. Unfortunately, a new wall for Philadelphia, and a new wall for Doc Rivers in a playoff game. And after being fired in stride by Philadelphia, the Doc was able to express himself a little more… freely on James Harden:

Doc Rivers says it was ‘challenging’ coaching James Harden

“It was challenging. More because we were fighting two things, and not like visually fighting. James was so good at playing one way, and the way I believe you have to play to win, in some ways is different because it’s… pic.twitter.com/ViTt8JfyVC

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 13, 2023

“It was a challenge [de coacher James Harden]. […] James was so good at playing a certain way, and the way I thought you had to play to win was different, because you have to give the ball a lot, create movement […]

Well… it’s clear that we can see what the Doc is talking about: Harden likes to have the ball in his hands and play an important role in attack, which is undeniably the case, but not always in the right way apparently . We have also seen him more comfortable from an individual point of view on these Playoffs when Joel Embiid had his knee sores. In the absence of his pivot, Harden could become “Texan” again by mistreating his opponents as he likes to do so. He has even expressed his desire to play his game in the next team where he will sign this summer. To see if Nick Nurse has planned to give in to the whims of the star, but it seems complicated to center the game on him when Joel Embiid is in the same team…

Now, needless to mention the lack of class of the Doc, who continues to impress us with his nerve year after year, passing the blame on others. Because if the Sixers have been sunburnt for two weeks in Cancun, he is far from innocent in history. During Game 6 and 7 of these Conference finals against the Celtics, we saw Philly totally choke offensively without offering any real background… Whose fault is that? Maybe if it was too hard to coach the bearded man, it’s because he just wasn’t… No, nothing.