Patrick Beverley, JJ Redick take sides on Doc Rivers debate

Patrick Beverley, JJ Redick take sides on Doc Rivers debate originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Patrick Beverley and JJ Redick have a handful of similarities. Both played NBA basketball for more than a decade. Both logged time for the Sixers as well as the Clippers. Both played under head coach Doc Rivers. And both are never shy when it comes to speaking their mind, especially in front of a microphone.

They do differ, apparently, when it comes to their opinion of the former Sixers head coach Rivers.

Rivers, now the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, coached Redick for four consecutive seasons when Redick played for the Clippers. It was at that point of his career that Rivers put Redick into the starting lineup, whereas prior to that, he was almost exclusively a bench player.

So far with Milwaukee, Doc is 3-7 since taking over for Adrian Griffin, who was fired despite leading the team to a 30-13 record. He is also gaining a reputation for shirking accountability following every loss.

Redick took Rivers to task on his growing list of excuses this morning as a panelist on ESPN’s First Take sports debate program.

“I’ve seen the trend for years! The trend is always making excuses. Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard… but it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus. They lose to Memphis. ‘Oh, it’s his players’ faults.’ Memphis was playing G-League guys and two-way guys… There’s NEVER accountability with that guy.”

Shoutout to Redick for saying the quiet part out loud. He isn’t entirely wrong. Even as Sixers head coach, Rivers would lay blame for losses at the feet at his players, and would snap on reporters for questioning his coaching.

Check out this response after being called on the carpet for blowing a 24-point lead to the Clippers:

Enter Rivers’ defender, former Sixer Patrick Beverley. After signing with the Sixers, he called Rivers a ‘mentor’ and said that it was Rivers who influenced him to sign there. Not long after Redick criticized Doc, Beverley jumped on Twitter for his response.

As mentioned, Redick was a career reserve before pairing up with Doc with the Clippers, but he did average 26 minutes a game in the four seasons prior to signing with the Clippers. Not surprisingly, Redick hopped on Twitter to clap back at Beverley.

This could go on for weeks, folks. The Doc Rivers debate will certainly continue for as long as the Bucks’ playoff run lasts, and beyond. And we are here for it.

Fun Fact: Redick was named a member of ESPN’s coverage of this June’s NBA Finals, replacing Doc Rivers.