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Tim BontempsESPN
CAMDEN N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ersThey practiced here Wednesday morning in preparation for a return to Toronto for Game 6, Eastern Conference’s first round playoff series against Toronto. RaptorsThursday night saw us halfway to what would have been an unprecedented collapse, after we had taken a 3-0 lead at the best-of-seven series.
Doc Rivers, the 76ers’ coach, is the only one to have more than one loss following a 3-1 series win. This has happened three times in his professional career. Rivers said Wednesday that he needs to review the playoff record and that he was not happy with his performance.
Rivers said, after Rivers and the team had completed practice. “But I wish you’d tell me the whole story. Are you all right?
“My Orlando team [in 2003]The eighth seed. I am not credited for standing up against the eighth seed. [Detroit]Pistons won the title. It was the eighth seed. You should go back and take a look at that roster. I challenge you to go back and take a look at that roster. You would be able to say, “What a great job as a coach.” Really.
“It is the Clipper team. [in 2015]We lost 3-1 Chris PaulDidn’t play in the first two, as I was only playing on one side and there wasn’t a home court. Then the last one. [when the Clippers lost to the Denver Nuggets in 2020]For me, ‘is the one we blew. It’s the one that I took. That was it. That was the result of the bubble. It’s possible for anything to happen in the bubble. There is no home court. Game seven would have been played in LA.
It just happens. It just happens. I gotta do better always. I am always responsible for my actions. Some of it is because circumstances change. Let’s win this one. We don’t even have to talk about it.
The 2003 Rivers and the Orlando MagicFuture Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady was the one leading the charge to take a 3-1 advantage over the Pistons. McGrady, who has never reached the second round of the playoffs during his career, famously said that after taking the 3-1 lead in Game 4, he felt “good to get into the second round.”
Detroit won the three remaining games quickly by a combined total of 61 points. They then lost to the New Jersey Nets, in the Eastern Conference finals. The Nets went on to win the NBA title the following year.
Rivers was the 3-1 winner in 2015 over Rivers, who is also the current star point guard for the 76ers. James HardenDaryl Morey, president of basketball operations, was both then with the Houston RocketsThe Clippers lost the series’ final three games. Houston defeated the Clippers by 40-15 at home in Game 6. This result was made possible by Harden, who watched from the bench. It turned a 13 point deficit at the beginning of the quarter into an impressive 12-point win. The Clippers closed out the series in Game 7.
Rivers stated that the most memorable loss was in 2020. Clippers – Led by Kawhi Leonard Paul GeorgeThey had acquired them the previous summer and were the favorite to win the championship. However, they took a 3-1 lead over the Nuggets but lost double-digit leads in the last three games to send the series home from the NBA’s bubble at Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando.
The 76ers are trying to improve on their history, but for now they’re just trying to keep it from getting worse. Last year, the 76ers lost a 26 point lead in Game 5 to the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Atlanta Hawks– Before losing again on their home court in Game 7, in the game where Ben SimmonsHe missed an open dunk in the fourth quarter and began his journey to Philadelphia.
In this series, Toronto has been beaten by the 76ers in the opening two games. snuck out an overtime victoryHinter Joel EmbiidThe Raptors dominated Game 4 and 5, thanks to’s heroisms in Game 3. Rivers acknowledged that it can be difficult to beat another team but that both teams have learned from the series how to win Game 6.
“Being up to 3-0, especially the 3-0, I would suggest that [teams feel differently],” Rivers said. Rivers said, “Many teams don’t win these games. Only the Celtics won that game [in this year’s first round playoffs]. The rest of the team lost that game.
“From a coach standpoint, you hate it because you feel like, ‘Let’s just take care.’ They played better in Game 5 the next night. We didn’t play well. We didn’t have a sense urgency. Now, it is clear that both teams have served notice. Both teams now have my full attention.
“If you don’t have it, we’re all in trouble.”
Rivers responded to a question about what it would take for Game 6 to go differently. He mentioned the pace at which the Philadelphia 76ers played, particularly offensively, in the first two games. Philadelphia will need to return to that pace to close Toronto and avoid a repeat of the do-or-die Game 7.
Rivers stated, “Well, I think the number one thing was 63% of all the times we took the ball outside of bounds last season.” So that would mean 37% of all the time you just bring the ball up after making a basket, free throw or some other type of play. This is clearly a better way.
“We need to make more stops because they don’t run. They run when they can but stop when they can’t. The clock is set at 22 seconds. This makes the game a slow-paced half-court game. These two things are: number one, we can get more stops; number two, when we get stops and even scores, we can play at a faster pace. We’re moving the ball up and down the court.”