What's Doc Rivers' Message to 76ers After Loss vs. Celtics?

The 76ers fell short to the Celtics once again. After a loss like that, what does Doc Rivers say to his team?

For the third time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers went head-to-head with their Atlantic Division rival, the Boston Celtics. In the first two outings against the Celtics, the Sixers struggled and came up short both times, with a 16 point-differential between games. 

The Sixers tried not to get caught up in the fact that Saturday’s game served as a barometer for where they’re currently at. While Philadelphia is one of the NBA’s best teams statistically, multiple losses to the reigning Eastern Conference Champions raise the question of whether they are true title contenders at this point or not.

Saturday was an opportunity for the Sixers to show the NBA they are up there with the best of them. All was going well at first. In the first quarter, the Sixers rallied to gain a nine-point lead. While Boston quickly bounced back, the Sixers still entered halftime with a six-point cushion.

In the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Sixers snagged their biggest lead of the game. Up 15 points, the Sixers were in the driver’s set and primed for a potential dominant win over the Eastern Conference’s top contenders.

Unfortunately, a “relaxed” third quarter, as described by Sixers center Joel Embiid, led to a stunning comeback by the Celtics. Throughout the second half, the lead changed over three times. When the game was tied at 107 with five seconds to go, Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum hit a three to give the Celtics a three-point lead with just one second to spare.

Joel Embiid launched a shot beyond half-court, which successfully dropped. However, both teams knew he didn’t get it off in time, and it was confirmed rather quickly after a review. After being issued with a three-point loss, the Sixers fell to the Celtics for the third time this season.

After the game, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers was asked what he says to the team after a tough loss in an important game.

“Not a lot, you know?” said Rivers. “You don’t say much after games anyway. There’s no big speeches after games.”

On the surface, the final result of Saturday’s game looks bad since the Sixers once again struggled to beat a championship-caliber team in their conference. In the eyes of Rivers, though, he sees the positives.

“You just tell them like, we’ll live that shot,” the head coach continued. “De’Anthony (Melton), you were right there. There are things we can do better, and we’re right there. This doesn’t change anything for us. Stay encouraged. We’re right there.” 

One regular-season game doesn’t make or break the Sixers’ chances of making a deep run in the playoffs, but it does reveal the Sixers still have some room for improvement. The team believes they are “right there,” but there is still much to prove during the difficult upcoming stretch.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.