JJ Redick evidently was waiting for a chance to dunk on Doc Rivers, and the former NBA guard received a golden opportunity Sunday evening.
Rivers’ 76ers were embarrassed in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with the Celtics. After failing to close out the best-of-seven series Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia suffered a 24-point loss at TD Garden with a trip to the conference finals on the line. And after the lopsided affair, Redick took aim at his former head coach.
“I wonder if they cooperated,” Redick tweeted after the Celtics eliminated the Sixers.
Redick’s tweet was in reference to a remark Rivers made about his old Clippers teams last month. Asked by ESPN’s Malika Andrews to compare the 2022-23 76ers to his past groups, Rivers slighted those Los Angeles teams by saying they were “never going to win” because they lacked cooperation. Redick, rostered by the Clippers for Rivers’ first four seasons in LA, clearly doesn’t believe that’s why those clubs fell short of the ultimate goal.
Time will tell if 76ers brass is interested in trying to cooperate with Rivers moving forward. Sunday’s loss marked the third straight season in which the 76ers failed to make it past the conference semis.
