PHILADELPHIA _ While the 76ers' hiring of Doc Rivers as the team's new head coach appears to be a universally popular move, and experts including ESPN analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson feel he is a Hall of Fame coach, there are some noted blemishes on his postseason resume.
There are also some strong showings, none more so than winning an NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and almost doing so again in 2010, losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA finals.
Winning a championship is difficult. And although Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen led the way in Boston, Rivers had to blend the All-Stars together.
Molding stars to play well together, something Rivers has done well in his career, is a big part of coaching in the NBA. Rivers will obviously have that task with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
In that 2008 championship run, the Celtics had to show grit by winning two seven-game series in the opening two rounds against Atlanta and Cleveland. That NBA title was the obvious pinnacle of his coaching career.
However, there have been some postseason lows for Rivers, who qualified for the playoffs in six of his seven seasons coaching the Clippers.
