Sixers assistant Dave Joerger has deep appreciation for Doc Rivers’ feel for game, coaching methods
Joerger, who has had head-coaching stints with the Grizzlies and Kings, thinks his time with Rivers and the Sixers organization will help him pursue a third head job.
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CHICAGO — Dave Joerger believes his time with the 76ers organization will benefit him in regards to another head-coaching stint.
“It’s just a great organization,” Joerger said. “They got a great front office and being around [head coach] Doc [Rivers], who I have so much respect for.”
Joerger had head coaching stints with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies, compiling a 245-247 record in six seasons. He interviewed for the Indiana Pacers position last offseason before being hired by Rivers in October to run the Sixers offense.
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Since joining the staff, he’s seen the intricacies of why Rivers does what he does.
“Now having had that and now this, I see why it works for him,” Joerger said of Rivers, who’s ranked 10th all-time with NBA coaching victories with 968 after Thursday nights 127-105 road win over the Chicago Bulls. “He’s got a great personality. He motivates players. He sees what needs to be done and what needs to be said, and he’s not afraid to say it.
“But he doesn’t do it in a way to make people not come to work with a smile on their face the next day.”
Those are some things that Joerger, 47, has learned and appreciates about Rivers that he didn’t know before. Joerger refers to his boss as a “classy, classy professional guy.”
“I feel like head coaching is an art,” he said. “You can get all the numbers and you are supposed to make this decision or the other. He has a tremendous feel for the game. He is an artist at what he does, and I have a deep appreciation for that.”
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Joerger went to Memphis an as assistant coach before the start of the 2007-08 season. He was promoted to top assistant under then-head coach Lionel Hollins after four seasons. Joerger was credited with helping the Grizzlies defense, which led the league in steals and forced turnovers during the 2010-11 campaign.
He was elevated to Grizzlies head coach after Hollins, a former Sixers player, was granted permission to look for another head coaching job following a successful 2012-13 season. The Grizzlies had posted a 56-26 regular-season mark before being swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals.
Joerger led the Grizzlies to regular-season records of 50-32 and 55-27 in his first two seasons in Memphis. His team went 42-40 and got swept in the first round of the playoffs in his final season with the Grizzlies.
The coach struggled during three seasons in Sacramento, going 98-148.