“He’s influenced a lot of young coaches like myself over his time and taken us under his wing” - J.B. Bickerstaff believes Doc Rivers has been unfairly criticized

Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff and ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith agree that Philadelphia 76ers coach has unfairly been the brunt of criticism.

On "First Take" on Wednesday, Bickerstaff said:

“Doc has a long history of being great, and I think there is a lot of unnecessary conversation about the jobs he’s done over the past. He’s a Hall of Fame coach. First ballot, no question about it, right? He’s done a lot of great things.

"He’s influenced a lot of young coaches like myself over his time and taken us under his wing and been a mentor to a lot of us. So, you know, I think it is unfair some of the criticism that he’s received.”

Doc Rivers has been unfairly treated by media

After the Philadelphia 76ers won the first three games against the Toronto Raptors in their first-round series, the Raptors won the next two. With the series shifting to Toronto for Game 6 and Sixers center Joel Embiid (hand) injured, narratives of Doc Rivers' past playoff collapses surfaced.

However, Philadelphia sealed the Eastern Conference series with a decisive 132-97 win and moved forward. At that point, many of the headlines lost weight and the narratives moved on. But the damage was done.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith agreed with Bickerstaff:

“Doc Rivers is being unfairly treated, there is no doubt about that.”

Rivers was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1983. Playing point guard for them until 1991, Rivers later played for the LA Clippers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. Doc was an All-Star in 1988.

In 1999, Rivers began his coaching career as the head coach of the Orlando Magic and was named the 2000 Coach of the Year in his first season. He went on to coach the Boston Celtics, Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. He led Boston to the 2008 championship.

Since the start of his coaching career, Rivers has only missed the playoffs on four occasions. Though he has only reached the NBA Finals twice, winning once, Rivers has proved himself. In fact, this season, the NBA named him one of the 15 best coaches in its history.

This season, the Philadelphia 76ers traded for James Harden, which was a large and positively impactful move. The squad finished fourth in a tough Eastern Conference, going 51-31.

With all that Rivers has accomplished and continues to hope to accomplish, chalking up his career to a couple blown series’ leads is unfair. Missing the playoffs only four times since starting coaching in 1999 is a large feat on its own. Rivers stands as an impactful coach, and Bickerstaff and Smith defending him is refreshing to see.