3. Doc Rivers
If you ask Doc Rivers, he belongs nowhere near this list.
Yes, he already has won a championship and has been recognized as one of the top 15 coaches in NBA history. Rivers has forgotten more basketball than the average person learns over their lifetime.
However, he has an overall playoff record of 104-100. He is 88-90 if you take out the 2008 championship run. Rivers has blown three 3-1 series leads in his career– the only head coach in history to done this more than once. In the 18 trips to the playoffs as a head coach, and while in charge of a number of star-studded rosters, Rivers has made it to the Finals just twice. One of these was the 2008 championship.
Rivers is well aware that he will be the first man on the chopping block if things do go sour. The head coach went as far as to call the idea of making major changes if they don’t get past the second round “the dumbest thing ever” when talking to reporters.
While Ben Simmons struggles stole the spotlight during the collpase against the Hawks and injuries played the biggest role in the Sixers series loss to the Heat last year, there is no room for excuses. There is sure to be a close watch over each backup center subsitution and flexibility in his lineup decisions, with plenty of people itching to toss the blame on Doc Rivers already. All signs point toward Rivers being the fall guy if things do go south, so he should be feeling the pressure of the second-round hurdle more than anyone.
2. James Harden
James Harden started this season by taking a paycut in order to allow the Sixers the flexibility to bring in a few playoff difference-makers. He has an illustrious NBA career already with a championship ring as the biggest missing checkmark.
However, he also has his own individual playoff demons he must fight.
Harden’s playoff performances are not nearly as poor as they are often percieved. Across his 149 total playoff games he has averaged 22.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. This also included eight playoff runs in which he has averaged 26 or more points per game. The buzzsaw that were the prime Golden State Warriors prevented Harden being able to make it past the Conference Finals during his prime Houston years, despite some impressive efforts from both him and the team.
In comparison to the stretches with Houston, there is much less pressure on Harden this year. But the Sixers cannot afford for him to be the same guy who attempted just two shots in the secodn half of the elimination loss to the Heat last year. While Harden deserves immense credit for his transition into the high-level playmaker he is, and the Sixers have benefitted from this greatly, they cannot afford for him to be passive this year.
In fairness to the 10-time All-Star, James Harden has looked like a different player this season. He has a burst in his game that was not there last year and his chemistry alongside Joel Embiid has continued to grow. On the season, Harden has averaged 20.7 points, 10.7 assists (leads NBA), and 6.1 rebounds per game. He is shooting the second-best three-point percentage of his career (38.5%) and has improved in nearly every efficiency measurement from last year.
If Harden can play like the version of himself that he has looked to be all season, the Sixers will be in good shape. At 33-years-old and with his future uncertain after the season, Harden may never get as great of a chance at a championship for the remainder of his career. It is up to him to seize the moment and he will have a huge impact on the Sixers chances on an every night basis.
1. Joel Embiid
For all the talk about role players, subsitituion methods, and all other factors that impact the Sixers- this is Joel Embiid’s team at the end of the day.
Sixers fans have (rightfully) campaigned the national media for Embiid to get his proper respect over the past few seasons. The man who has become ‘The Process’ personified has grown from a raw 20-year-old who had picked up a basketball for the first time just five years earlier to one of the premier talents across the NBA in front of each of our eyes. He has been everything Sixers fans could have hoped for and more- becoming the stabilizing figure within an organization that has continually been in flux during his time there.
However, if Embiid is to live up to the sky-high pedestal that so many of us are so eager to put him on, he must do it on the biggest stage.
There are a number of bizarre factors that have prevented Embiid from playing his best basketball on the biggest stage. From suffering a broken bone in his face on two different occasions to his point guard shooting 34.2% on free-throws, there have been hurdles that have been difficult to overcome.
But the time for excuses is over and Embiid looks at the point in his evolution where he has been ready to be the pure driving force. There have been games this season where Embiid has simply willed and carried the Sixers to a victory and this needs to continue in the playoffs. There is no basketball player in the world who can match his combination of size, skill, and ability.
With plenty of people needing to see Embiid do it on the biggest stage, which is at least past the second round, this is his opportunity. Look for him to demonstrate his growth in processing the game which has been put on display all season. Embiid has been extremely calculated in the way he has picked apart opposing defenses and has not been frazzled by any looks. He has seen just about every possible defense that can be thrown at him at this point in his career and look for him to continue being smart in his approach.
This is the first season of his career in which the Sixers roster has been 100% built to maximize Embiid. With Ben Simmons out of the picture, each member of the roster was looked to being out the most in the superstar. He called out PJ Tucker by name at the press conference podium last year and Daryl Morey brought him to Philadelphia.
Count on Embiid to understand the importance of this playoff run and for this to play a significant part in hi slong-term legacy.
AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps
