Sixers fans can't help but delight in yet another classic Doc Rivers choke job

Doc Rivers is the gift that keeps on giving, especially when he's not coaching your basketball team.

We can never take away that 2008 championship run in Boston, but Rivers' coaching career has probably extended past its logical conclusion at this point. He continues to rest on his laurels, stifling a new contender every few years with boneheaded lineup choices and a constantly mixed bag of execution.

Is Rivers a "bad" coach? That is such a loaded term. "Bad." So broad. Rivers wins a lot of games in the regular season. His teams tend to improve offensively upon his arrival. It happened in Philadelphia. It happened in Los Angeles once upon a time. He does offer a certain floor of achievement for good teams, not to mention the respectability inherent to his name. Past accomplishments are accomplishments all the same. They mean something.

And yet, the Milwaukee Bucks' Game 5 meltdown against the Indiana Pacers was Peak Doc Rivers, and it's why he should not return to the sideline next season if the Bucks are serious about winning. That is, assuming Giannis Antetokounmpo is back and the front office is, at least publicly, serious about winning.

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Bucks' Game 5 meltdown once again turns the spotlight on Doc Rivers

The Bucks took a commanding 118-111 lead with less than 40 seconds on the clock in overtime. The series was on the verge of shifting back to Milwaukee with Indiana up 3-2. The Bucks were always fighting an uphill battle without Damian Lillard, but Giannis is one of one, and there were so many positives to take away from this performance ... until the final 30 seconds.

In the span of those 30 seconds, however, the Bucks fell apart in inexplicable fashion. Tyrese Haliburton drilled the go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left, capping an 8-0 Pacers run to secure the victory (and the series). Now, a long offseason full of tough questions awaits Milwaukee.

Rivers has blown every manner of lead. The Philadelphia 76ers were up 3-2 on the Boston Celtics, their vaunted rivals, in the 2023 conference semis. A Game 6 meltdown led into a Game 7 beatdown, and the Sixers went home early. A lead is never safe with Rivers, whether it's on the scoreboard or in the postseason bracket. His teams have a special knack for unraveling under the slightest bit of pressure.

We can try our best to pinpoint "reasons," but frankly, this feels like something bigger than all of us. Like a cosmic curse. Rivers, again, is generally a fine coach. He makes some weird lineup choices and tends to ride with the vets for too long, but so do most coaches. That said, his ability to hammer home details and draw up plays in the clutch is ... consistently less than satisfactory.

So often, those Sixers teams would look completely lost against live adjustments. Rivers can install changes from game to game, but as soon as an opposing coach zags mid-game, any Doc Rivers team is in trouble. He runs the same stuff into oblivion, whether it's working or not, and he's liable to pin the blame for poor execution on his players, rather than accepting responsibility for his own shortcomings. It's maddening.

Best of luck to the Bucks this summer. There's a lot for Jon Horst and that front office to navigate. It will get tricky.