PHILADELPHIA — Doc Rivers says there’s no extra motivation.
No one would blame him if he said otherwise. He accepted the 76ers head coaching job within days of being fired as the Los Angeles Clippers coach. Despite having the best winningest percentage in Clippers franchise history, Rivers has been criticized for losing last season’s second-round series despite having a commanding 3-1 lead. In addition, that squad had major chemistry issues, star players were given special treatment and one of those players, Paul George, threw Rivers under the bus.
But he said before Wednesday’s 113-107 season-opening victory over the Washington Wizards that he was not motivated to prove that he’s still the same Doc Rivers that people adored.
“It’s not about me,” Rivers said. “It’s about our guys. It’s about our team. And I’m the coach, and the coach is always going to be the fall guy. ... That’s the way it is. Accept it and keep moving on.”
Wednesday’s victory marked Rivers’ 944th regular-season victory, moving him into a tie with Bill Fitch for 10th place on the NBA all-time wins list. Rivers can take sole possession of the 10th place spot when the Sixers (1-0) face the New York Knicks Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
On this night, Joel Embiid finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds. Ben Simmons added 16 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. Shake Milton added 19 points in a reserve role.
Talking to Rivers, he expects to add a lot more victories to his total. He’ll tell you the team’s depth is the main reason for his optimism.
“And it starts with those two guys,” he said of All-Stars Simmons and Embiid. “But we have to make each one of guys great this year. Obviously, we want Ben and Joel to have their best seasons, but it’s still not going to work if Shake [Milton], Tobias [Harris] and Danny [Green] don’t have their best seasons..”
“So we have a lot of work to do.”
Milton did his part. However, Harris and Green had nights they would mostly like to forget.
Harris had 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting. He missed all four of his three-pointers before his foul shots gave the Sixers a 111-105 lead with 15 seconds left. Green had 2 points on 1-for-6 shooting. He also missed all four of his three-pointers and finished a minus-27. (Overall, the Sixers made just 8 of 28 three-pointers (28.6 %).)
Rivers’ second until actually played better than the Sixers, at times.
Tyrese Maxey and Mike Scott subbed in for Simmons and Harris with the Sixers down 26-25 with 1 minute, 7 seconds left in the first quarter, creating an all-second unit lineup of Maxey, Scott, Dwight Howard, Furkan Korkmaz and Shake Milton.
The lineup ended the quarter on a 5-0 run for a seven-point cushion (39-32) after Maxey’s layup with 8:50 left in the second half. Rivers started subbing his starters back in 22 seconds later. The Sixers went on a take a commanding 13-point lead but lost the lead after Rivers had his full starting lineup in.
Sparked by a 9-0 run, the Wizards built a 68-58 cushion with 7:36 left in the third quarter, when Rivers called his second timeout in the first five minutes of the second half.
Things got testy after Simmons was fouled by Ish Smith with 4:12 left in the quarter. The Sixers took exception to Davis Bertans swiping down with force on Simmons’ arms during the play. Harris immediately pushed him out the way, then Howard jawed at the Wizards. Howard and Bradly Beal both received technical fouls on the play.
But on this night, Milton and Maxey deserved more minutes. The Sixers could have gotten more use out of Matisse Thybulle, one of their best perimeter defenders, who was inserted in the game late in the fourth quarter.
Rivers could have a challenge on his hands.
Unlike the Clippers, the Sixers aren’t expected to contend for the NBA title. Some people with his stature and wealth would have opted to take at least one season off to rest up. Instead, Rivers is embarking on 22nd season as coach that was highlighted with a NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008.
“I love it,” Rivers said of what keeps him going. “I love my job, and I swear the day I don’t, I’m out. I want to win. I want to win, again, you know, and I want this group to win.
“So that’s what drives me.”
