Doc Rivers Seemingly Blamed James Harden For The Loss On Thursday

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers knows he has to get more out of James Harden if his team has any chance of making a run this season.

Last night, the Sixers were outperformed early and often, losing in upset fashion to the Detroit Pistons 102-94. While no one on Philly played particularly well, Rivers singled out Harden after the game.

When a reporter asked about the poor play from the team’s bench, Doc Rivers was quick to throw James Harden under the bus.

“Well, [the bench] didn’t struggle,” Rivers said. “They didn’t get a lot of shots in their defense. I think during that stretch, it was more James than them. So you know, yeah, it’s just a tough night.”

Doc Rivers didn’t blame the bench unit for the 76ers' loss to the Pistons.

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Doc Rivers would go on to say that it was a tough night all-in-all, and the James Harden performance was just a part of a whole bigger problem.

“I thought it was a tough game,” Rivers said. “I thought offensively we really just stood around. They were switching; we just played outside and didn’t move the ball as a group. At halftime we were shooting 42 percent I think, and I just thought the fouls bailed us out. We were awful in the first half, too. We played with very little life tonight, didn’t play together tonight at all. That’s something we’ve been doing. It’s just one of those nights, but a tough one.”

James Harden shot just 4-15 on Thursday night, notching 18 points to go along with just four assists.

When Doc Rivers and the Sixers’ brass sent a massive haul to the Nets in order to acquire Harden, they had to be thinking this season was championship or bust.

Now, they’re left searching for answers with just one week left until the postseason.

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