“Doc Rivers is not Nicki Minaj, he doesn’t have an army of online people rising up to defend him” - Kevin Wildes defends Doc Rivers after his comments in the media
On Fox Sports' morning show "First Things First," co-host Kevin Wildes spoke about how there is a misleading narrative around Doc Rivers. Wildes is baffled by the fact that nobody in the media seems to want to defend Rivers. Wildes said:
"Narratives are made up from a few tastemakers and everybody else follows. We saw it with JaVale & Shaq. There's nobody out there defending Doc Rivers. Doc Rivers is not Nicki Minaj. He doesn’t have an army of online people rising up to defend him at any little misstep.
"I'm going to do it for him. Doc Rivers has won 101 playoff games, Doc Rivers been Coach of the Year. He's won a championship."
"Narratives are made up from a few tastemakers & everyone else follows. We saw it with JaVale & Shaq. There's nobody out there defending Doc Rivers, so I'm going to do it for him. He's won 101 playoff games, he's been Coach of the Year, he's won a championship." — @kevinwildes https://t.co/jaaO21f7RB
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has faced immense scrutiny after the 76ers lost Games 4 and 5 of the series against the Toronto Raptors.
Despite jumping out to a 3-0 series lead, anticipation is building that the 76ers might blow the series. This narrative has been compounded by Rivers' well-documented history of blowing leads in the postseason.
Rivers has been the head coach for three blown 3-1 series leads. His first was in 2003 as the coach of the Orlando Magic. They blew a 3-1 lead to the Detroit Pistons.
In 2015, Rivers and the LA Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to Houston Rockets. In 2020, Rivers and the LA Clippers lost three straight to the Denver Nuggets after jumping out to a 3-1 series lead.
How far can Doc Rivers take the Philadelphia 76ers this season?
The Philadelphia 76ers, led by Rivers, have dealt with constant outside disruptions, especially with the Ben Simmons fiasco. The focus then shifted to James Harden and his subpar performances.
In the meantime, Joel Embiid has established himself as one of the best players in the game and a bona fide frontrunner for the MVP. Rivers led the team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference by winning 51 games.
Doc Rivers put together the perfect play for Joel Embiid to seal the W before time expired in Game 3! #NBABreakdown
The @sixers can advance with a Game 5 win tonight at 8pm/et on NBA TV https://t.co/TagkDSES6s
The 76ers were seemingly on their way to sweeping Toronto after running away with the first three games.
However, an injury to Fred VanVleet forced Toronto to go big. This was coupled with James Harden's poor performance and a thumb injury to Embiid. The Raptors won Games 4 and 5 and have momentum coming into Game 6 in Toronto on Thursday.
Given the historic collapses Rivers has been a part of, it is no surprise that some are questioning if the 76ers can survive this series.
The 76ers have a championship-caliber team with a coach who has won a title. However, things seem to be going south at the worst moment for Rivers and company.