Doc Rivers passionately responded to a question about his job security after the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers were down 0-2 in their second-round series against the Miami Heat, tied it up with wins their next two games following the return of Joel Embiid, and entered the verge of elimination with a Game 5 loss. To keep their season alive, Philadelphia needed to win Game 6 on Thursday, May 12.
Instead, the 76ers fell to the Heat 99-90 to bring their 2021-22 season to an end. After the game, head coach Doc Rivers was asked about his job security after another early exit from the playoffs for Philadelphia. That is when Rivers gave a passionate defense of his security with the team.
Doc Rivers defends job security after 76ers eliminated from second round
Rivers has been with the 76ers since 2020. Last year, despite the team having the best record in the entire Eastern Conference, the 76ers were eliminated in seven games by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round.
This year, the team made the decision to move on from Ben Simmons, sending him and a plethora of other players to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for James Harden. Philadelphia finished fourth in the East, made it past the Toronto Raptors in six games in the opening round, but were sent home by Miami, the top seed in the conference.
The 76ers got off to a rough start to Game 6 after Danny Green was carried off of the court with a left knee injury, which occurred after an inadvertent collision with Embiid. He was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
As for Harden, he only attempted two shots in the entire second half. He had seven shot attempts through the first two quarters.
Embiid scored 20 points (9-for-24 from the field) and grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double. Tyrese Maxey put up 20 points as well (9-22 FG), in addition to recording four assists and three rebounds.
The 76ers have not made it past the second round of the playoffs since 2001, the year they last went to the NBA Finals. Despite another early end to the season, Rivers is not concerned about his job security with the 76ers.