-Ed-Mulholland-USA-TODAY-Sports-2023-06-13T151916.584
No doctor could have saved the Philadelphia 76ers this season, especially when one of its two main stars was butting heads with the coach.
In an interview with Bill Simmons on the “Bill Simmons” podcast, former 76ers coach Doc Rivers spoke about the difficulties of coaching guard James Harden:
“It was challenging. More because we were fighting two things—and not like visually fighting—it was James is 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 a lot of giving up the ball, moving the ball, coming back to the ball.”
Compared to his Houston days, or even his stint in Brooklyn (when he was legitimately an MVP candidate for a brief stretch), Philly Harden has been a disappointment who wallowed in the 2023 playoffs. Perhaps part of it was age, but with Doc Rivers on the bench rather than Steve Nash or Mike D’Antoni, perhaps part of it was his refusal to vibe with the coach.
“I would have loved to have him younger, when that was easier for him because giving up the ball and getting back the ball is hard. It’s physical, it’s exhausting,” Rivers told Simmons. “I thought the first half of the year, we were the best team in the game. I thought James was playing perfect basketball.”
