The Philadelphia 76ers and head coach Doc Rivers were eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday night by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
This is the second straight season that Rivers has failed to guide the Sixers out of the second round, but ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think that it will cost Rivers his job.
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“I’ve been told within the last 20 minutes that they having a team meeting within the hour or so, and then after that, Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers are going to meet privately,” Smith said. “I’m also being told that Doc Rivers will survive, that he’ll last in Philadelphia.”
Even though the Sixers have failed to make the Eastern Conference Finals under Rivers, he has led the team to some success in the last two seasons.
Philadelphia was the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the 2020-21 season. Unfortunately, it ended up getting upset by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the playoffs. This season, the Sixers earned the No. 4 seed in the East and beat the Toronto Raptors in the first round.
It’s hard to blame Rivers completely for the team’s series loss to the Heat, as Joel Embiid was forced to miss the first two games with an orbital fracture and mild concussion. That put the Sixers in a two-game hole in the series, which ended up being costly.
For his career, Rivers has compiled a 1,043-735 regular season record and 104-100 postseason record as a head coach.
If Rivers were to be fired by the Sixers, it has been reported that the Los Angeles Lakers would be interested in him to fill their vacant coaching role.
