PHILADELPHIA — Doc Rivers has some decisions to make in the wake of the James Harden acquisition.
How much will Harden, who Daryl Morey landed in a blockbuster deal involving Ben Simmons at Thursday’s trade deadline, have the ball in his hands? How does Harden’s presence affect MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid’s touches? How much does Rivers rely on two-man games with the pair of established stars?
How much will Harden’s presence change the roles of fellow 76ers’ starters Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris? Will Maxey, who has been effective as the starting point guard, play primarily off the ball?
We can go on. And we will.
Will there be more isolation/clear-out plays to cater to Harden’s strengths? How will it work at the defensive end?
In terms of his rotations, does Rivers stagger Harden and Embiid to make sure one of them is always on the court, thereby avoiding the dreaded bench-heavy lineups that have typically hurt the Sixers? Does he keep either Harden or Maxey out there at all times to run the offense (which we’d highly recommend)?
Rivers said Friday that he’ll be learning about the most productive Sixers’ pairings over the days, weeks and perhaps months ahead, then plans to proceed accordingly.
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“These are the things I don’t know yet,” Rivers said.
There are so many decisions with so much at stake for a franchise that has reached the NBA Finals once (2000-01) since winning the 1982-83 championship. The 32-year-old Harden is a former league MVP (2017-18), nine-time all-star selection and three-time scoring champion.
If you’re thinking Rivers, who guided the Celtics to the 2007-08 NBA title and lost in Game 7 of the Finals to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers two years later, is feeling the heat of increased championship expectations from the Philadelphia fans, think again.
“Let me repeat this one more time – you and no one else can put no more pressure on myself than I do,” Rivers said Friday. “It will never happen. I’m in this to win. I’ve always been in this to win.
“When you make that decision, you understand there’s going to be pressure – and there should be. Because if it wasn’t, everyone would be champions. I think the reason we did this deal was so we could step into the fray.”
Asked if he believes the Sixers now have enough to win it all, Rivers replied. “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I don’t know. That’s something we will find out. We did it with the belief we do, obviously.
“… We don’t have a lot of time. The Phoenixes of the world and there’s teams (such as) Milwaukee and Miami, they’ve been together – Milwaukee (for) three (or) four years as a group. We have to get it done quick.”
The importance of practices and shootarounds has clearly increased with so much to determine in a relative hurr and so much on the line.
“To add someone like (Harden), your chances to win a championship are even bigger,” Embiid said.
The 34-22 Sixers have 26 games remaining, starting with Tuesday’s home date against the Celtics, which could be Harden’s debut in a Philadelphia uniform. They visit the Bucks on Thursday before heading into the weeklong all-star break.
Rivers knows Harden relatively well primarily from when Harden and Rivers’ son Austin played together in Houston. Rivers confirmed Friday that Harden contacted him about coaching the Rockets in 2020, but Rivers chose Embiid, Simmons and the Sixers instead after leaving the Clippers.
“I spent a lot of time (in Houston during the 2018 conference finals),” Rivers said. “… James has reached out to me several times about coaching. Now we have him.”
Along with seemingly more realistic championship aspirations and plenty of impending adjustments by Rivers and his players.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly
