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    Singled-out James Harden and Doc Rivers may leave the Sixers

    The Philadelphia 76ers‘ elimination at the hands of the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Western Conference semi-finals dealt a major blow to the team after squandering a 3-2 lead in the playoffs and producing a dismal second-half performance in the decider.

    Sixers star James Harden and head coach Doc Rivers were singled out after the last game with Boston and their future remains uncertain.

    After the recent dismissals of Monty Williams and Mike Budenholzer by the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively, Rivers could be next coach to depart an NBA team.

    “Yeah,” said Rivers after being asked if he’ll be around next season. “I think I got two years left, so.”

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    Sixers improved under Rivers

    Rivers arrived in Philadelphia after the NBA bubble in the winter of 2020, and helped the team improve their record in his three seasons, as he managed 49 wins in 2020/21, 51 in 2021/22 and 54 this season.

    This season’s record was their best since 2001, when Allen Iverson won the NBA MVP award and led the 76ers to their last Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals.

    The coach has the support of All-star and the reigning NBA MVP, Joel Embiid, who struggled in the playoffs.

    “Coach has been fantastic,” Embiid said. “And he’s done a great job, in my opinion.”

    Rivers already has 10 Game 7 losses as a head coach (6-10), twice as many as any other coach in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It has to be noted that he has lost five consecutive Game 7s.

    “I thought we had the right group. I really did,” Rivers noted.

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    “We played great all year and this loss absolutely diminishes what we did this year in some way. I think this team is headed right. I thought we took another step this season. And then tonight I think we took a step backward. But that’s OK. That happens, too.”

    Harden struggled against Celtics

    The other big man singled out for the Sixers‘ elimination is James Harden. His averages in these semi-finals (22+6.6+6.6+8) were similar to his regular season averages (21+6.1+10.7), but against the Celtics he struggled again.

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    He produced two impressive performances in the first game (45+1+6) and in the fourth (42+8+9), but he failed to impress in the second (12), third (16), fifth (17), as well as in the sixth (13 points on 4/16 shooting) and seventh (nine points on 3/11 shooting).

    “I haven’t even thought about it,” Harden said when asked about his future.

    In Philadelphia‘s four losses in this series, Harden recorded 12/55 shooting from the field, including 3/24 from three-point range.



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