Sixers' Doc Rivers Takes High Road Discussing Paul George's Criticism

Last season, the Philadelphia 76ers weren't the only team in the NBA to deal with drama. Over on the West Coast, the Los Angeles Clippers had quite the year. Although Doc Rivers and the new-look Clippers were viewed as one of the top contenders in the Western Conference, they came up short in the second round of the playoffs.

Many viewed the Clippers as a team that was expected to make the Western Conference Finals at the least. So, when they found themselves eliminated after having a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs, major changes needed to be made.

Doc Rivers was fired after coaching the Clippers for seven seasons. Not even a week later, he signed on to become the 76ers' newest head coach. As he's been running the show in Philly for a few months now, you would think Rivers could leave the issues from last season in the past.

But Clippers star Paul George recently sparked up some controversy as he criticized the way Rivers used him on the Clippers last season. "Doc was trying to play me as a Ray Allen or a JJ Redick, all pin-downs," George said on the 'All the Smoke' podcast over a week ago. "I can do it, but that ain't my game. I need some flow, I need some mixes of some pick-and-roll and post-ups. That last season was hard."

As expected, George's comments went viral among NBA fans. And a few days later, the Sixers' head coach addressed George's comments during a post-practice media availability. "I enjoyed coaching him," Rivers said. "So, not a lot to say there. Ty Lue was sitting right next to me," Rivers joked. "Listen, we lost the game, and I think everybody needs to take ownership. Obviously, we can always do better, and players can play better. As far as I'm concerned, I'll leave it there."

While Rivers hasn't publicly discussed George's comments since last week, a pregame presentation before the Clippers versus Lakers preseason matchup this past Friday night showed Rivers once again addressing the criticism. Of course, it added more fuel to the drama, but Rivers took the high road once again to avoid dealing with any further controversy involving a former player of his.

"Well, that's just Paul's opinion," Rivers told ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth. "I enjoyed coaching Paul. You know, I think if you go back and look at the stats, Paul played in more pick-and-rolls this last year than he ever did in his entire career. So I don't know how that's possible, and I wouldn't mind playing like Ray Allen if I was a player. I think Ray Allen was pretty special, so but listen, that's his opinion. I'm fine with that. The team was second in the league, I think, in scoring. Scoring wasn't a problem, you know? It was winning that was the problem."

As the Clippers failed to exceed or even reach expectations in 2019-2020, Los Angeles' front office decided it was time to move on from Rivers after seven seasons. Whether Rivers was truly the issue with the Clippers or not last season no longer matters. George will get his shot at redemption with a different head coach this season in Ty Lue, and Rivers will make participate in his debut season coaching the Sixers. This year, everybody gets an opportunity at a fresh start.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_