Polarizing former Boston Celtics big rips Doc Rivers following Sixers firing

Rasheed Wallace pulled no punches in discussing Doc Rivers following his Philadelphia firing. The polarizing former Boston Celtics big man for the 2009-10 season called out the Cs coach from 2004 to 2013 for being unable to make adjustments — and, in a major shot to the 61-year-old, said that Rivers is not able to command respect at this stage in his career.

“You gotta get somebody in there that the players respect,” Wallace prefaced on his Youtube show,  “That’s What Sheed Said,” before saying, “(Rivers) doesn’t make adjustments. That’s just from being in the locker room with him for that one season. He depends more on the players to make those adjustments, but coach you have to come in there and make adjustments as well especially when what you’re trying hasn’t worked.”

Rivers was let go from the Sixers following a playoff series loss to the Boston Celtics that went seven games. While Rivers was missing Joel Embiid in Game 1 and likely never had the MVP at full health during the Eastern Conference Semifinals, failing to advance to the conference finals for their sixth straight postseason could have damning effects on Philadelphia’s offseason.

The Boston Celtics may have ended an era in Philadelphia

With Rivers gone and James Harden potentially returning to Houston on the table, there could be many more changes coming for the Sixers. Potential Embiid and Tobias Harris trades could come next, and another era of “The Process” could be on the horizon.

If that is the case, then it will have been the Boston Celtics that dug Philadelphia’s grave and hammered the final nail in their coffin. Since 2018, the Cs have eliminated the Sixers three times, with one of those being a sweep down in the 2020 Disney World postseason bubble.

As Embiid famously said, the Celtics aren’t the Sixers’ rivals because Boston tends to, and the Houdini is paraphrasing here, pulverize them too often for there to be anything resembling even competition.