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ESPN's Jay Williams said Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers is under more pressure to win a championship than James Harden. Many would disagree, as Rivers is already a proven champion whereas Harden has underperformed in the playoffs.
Many analysts have rushed to predict whether the new-look 76ers with Harden will win a title. Williams overlooked the player's role and instead focused on Rivers.
Although Rivers coached the Boston Celtics to the 2008 championship, he has a history of postseason failures, including blown series leads. With that in mind, on ESPN's "First Take," Williams said:
"Is James Harden one of the top 15 players of all time? No, he's not. Did Doc Rivers get voted one of the top 15 coaches of all time? Yes, he did."
Williams brought up Rivers' failed runs with the LA Clippers when they had Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in their prime. "Lob City" was one of the league's top regular-season teams in the early 2010s but ended up with massive failures in the playoffs.
Williams also brought up the blown 3-1 series lead with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the second round of the 2020 playoffs as an example of Rivers' inability to maintain leads.
Rivers is the only coach in NBA history to blow three 3-1 leads in the playoffs.
James Harden has a history of underperforming in the NBA playoffs
James Harden is one of the greatest one-on-one offensive players in NBA history but has routinely not shown up when it matters most.
His Houston Rockets lost to the Golden State Warriors four times in a span of five years. During the 2018 playoffs, they had the NBA's best regular-season record and led 3-2 against the Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant-led Warriors. They then missed 27 straight 3-point shots in game 7 and were eliminated on their home floor.
Many believe that if Chris Paul hadn't hurt himself in that series, then the Rockets would have won the NBA Finals. However, when the two powerhouses met in the second round in 2019, Paul was healthy and Durant was hurt. They still lost that series.
These are just a few examples of Harden disappearing in the playoffs. He has the most postseason games of shooting under 20%, and he also holds the record for the most turnovers when facing elimination. He is 1-6 in elimination games, and many analysts believe his partnership with Joel Embiid will also end in a disaster.
The tandem of Embiid and Harden has yet to play together, and recent reports claim the "Beard" isn't available until after the All-Star break. Only time will tell if this experiment with Doc Rivers, Harden and Embiid will result in a championship.
Guess the Lakers players!
