What’s up with Doc? | Sports Daily Newsletter

We see the pattern here. The Phoenix Suns fired coach Monty Williams after their playoff series loss to the Denver Nuggets, even though Williams won the Coach of the Year award last season. The Milwaukee Bucks fired Mike Budenholzer, even though he won a championship two years ago.

So what will the 76ers do with Doc Rivers, future Hall of Fame coach, after a humiliating playoff exit against the Boston Celtics? Rivers expects to return next season, but he knows the lay of the land: “No one is safe in our business and I get that,” he says.

David Murphy, for one, figures it’s time for Rivers to move on. “In each of their four losses in this series, the Sixers looked like a team that desperately needed a fresh perspective,” he writes. “... If the Sixers run it back, they need somebody who can figure out a way to run it back differently.”

— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

Of course, the fate of Rivers is a major story line for the Sixers now that their offseason has arrived with a sickening thud. But how about the fates of James Harden and Tobias Harris and the next step for Tobias Harris, not to mention what to do with their free agents? Gina Mizell examines the possibilities.

If Harden winds up leaving for Houston, it’s worth wondering how The Beard will be remembered in this town.

Welcome to baseball season. No need to apologize for feeling distracted. It’s been a hectic spring. The Eagles made four of the first 66 picks in the NFL draft. Then the Sixers teased everyone all the way to a Game 7 before bowing out, as usual, in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Even the Flyers swiped a few headlines last week with a high-profile front-office move. The quarter pole of the Phillies season arrived Sunday, and they are at .500. Not great, but hardly awful. Still waiting to make their move, but hanging around in striking distance of the division lead. Heck, they haven’t even played the Braves or Mets yet. It’s like you haven’t missed a thing. Just in case, allow us to bring you up to speed.

Bailey Falter watch: still winless, yet likely still holding on to the five spot.

Fingers crossed that Craig Kimbrel hits 400 save milestone soon and that Bryce Harper doesn’t receive a suspension.

Next: The Phillies continue their series in San Francisco at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP). Zack Wheeler (3-2, 3.80 ERA) is scheduled to start against Giants right-hander Alex Cobb (3-1, 1.70).

Once firmly a bubble player for the 2023 World Cup, Lynn Williams is now a mortal lock.

In fact, with six goals in nine games this year, Williams might be playing herself into a starting role with the United States women’s national team. Jonathan Tannenwald looks at the Gotham forward and how she has suddenly become a very important player ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

Next: The Union return to MLS action Wednesday when they host D.C. United at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, FS1).

Episode 8: Remember Cary Williams? The former Eagles cornerback who one time said he missed a series of voluntary practices to go shopping for sconces? He was a fiery guy, a passionate player who could also be defiant, antagonistic, and defensive. By and large, during his stint with the Eagles, he was probably better known for his personality than his play on the field. But if all you heard and saw from Williams was anger, then you weren’t paying attention. Oh, he was angry all right. As Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane reveals, he had lots of reasons to be. There is a deep, tangled web of circumstances and experiences at the root of Williams’ attitude, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. Listen here.

New episodes are released every Friday. Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Who was MVP of the NBA Finals in 1983, the last time the Sixers won the championship? Email us your answer without looking it up, please!

A) Julius Erving

B) Andrew Toney

C) Maurice Cheeks

D) Moses Malone

Coming every Friday, starting June 2: the newest Inquirer newsletter, Outdoorsy. It’s a fun, practical guide to enjoying life outside in our region, featuring articles by The Inquirer’s outdoorsiest guy, Jason Nark.

Sign up for free right here: https://www.inquirer.com/newsletters/outdoors/sign-up/

We asked you: Who do you blame most for the meek performance by the Sixers in Game 7? Among your responses:

As a longtime Sixers fan, this is not the first Game 7 in the Garden that has ended in defeat for me. But this was embarrassing and for that, you have to blame the coach. There is no reason for not being ready for this game -— we all knew what Tatum could do, yet there was no adjustment to try and stop him. We all knew that the dependence on the 3 pt shot can make a team lazy and that is what happened — when they fall, all is well, but you have to have a plan for when they don’t fall and the Sixers had none.

The flagrant foul on Harden became the turning point — but that was in the 2nd Q, more than halfway from the finish. Why wasn’t a timeout called and a regrouping done? Why didn’t he get Harden out of the game for a few minutes and get him to reboot?

Yes, the players lost the game but it’s the coach who had to get them to a winning attitude after the fall in Game 6. Everyone knew that the loss in Game 6 was going to be a killer. It was the coach who had to turn that around. He didn’t. — Armen P.

Harden and Embiid are neck and neck, but Harden pulls away at the end. hey sure could have used Jimmy Butler and Mikal Bridges. — Kevin B.

Please, fire Rivers today work a trade for Embiid and say goodbye to Harden. This is ridiculous, if no one sees that Embiid although good is not MVP, there are others in the playoffs that are better — Tatum, etc.

... You could trade a future dynasty for this center. Do what you can but trade him, get rid of the $ you have in Harden and build a fast break team to compete with Boston and Miami. Enough said. — Dick F.

Why did we lose? Embiid psychologically checked out — his heart is in Miami — as if tough, tough Jimmy Butler wants to play with a guy who can’t also be consistently tough. Harden checked out after the first game — his heart and head are busy dreaming about what weird hat he’ll wear next. — Claire G.

I can use one word to describe the Sixers and its losers. The owner is a loser and doesn’t care about winning. Doc Rivers is a loser, his one title came with a dream team. Joel Embiid is a loser. James Harden is a loser. What makes it worse is that none of them have heart either.

Look at what happened almost at the same time yesterday. Embiid looks like he doesn’t care at all, while Bryce Harper tries to fight the entire Rockies team. This team will never win anything and the franchise is an embarrassment to this city. They need to take some lessons from Harper and Jalen Hurts on how to win, how to fight, and how to play with heart and soul. — Dan D.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from David Murphy, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Scott Lauber, Gustav Elvin, Jeff Neiburg, Devin Jackson, and Jonathan Tannenwald.