Doc Rivers says it will be disheartening if Sixers’ Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons are left off All-Star team
Rivers: “I think anybody can get numbers on a bad team. Somebody’s got to score, you know. But I think it’s hard to play well on a good team. Much harder. I don’t think people give that enough love."
TAMPA, Fla. — Doc Rivers and his 76ers staff will coach Team Durant at the NBA All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta.
His best player, Joel Embiid, was a voted an Eastern Conference All-Star starter for the fourth consecutive season. Rivers said Sunday that it would be a little disheartening if both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris were not named to the All-Star team.
The All-Star reserves are picked by the league coaches. The votes are due on Monday and the reserves will be announced on Tuesday.
Rivers said there’s a lot of guys deserving of making the All-Star team, but he thinks a team’s record has to be a factor.
The Sixers took the conference’s best record of 20-10 into Sunday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Amalie Arena.
“I think anybody can get numbers on a bad team,” Rivers said. “Somebody’s got to score, you know. But I think it’s hard to play well on a good team. Much harder. I don’t think people give that enough love.”
“We asked players on championship teams to sacrifice shots, pass the ball, play defense, you know just do some many thing to contribute to winning. And that always affects your numbers. Your numbers aren’t going to be as good, but your team wins.”
But Rivers noted that fans and media are always talking about guys on sub .500 teams. It blows him away.
“Tobias can get the same number anywhere and bigger numbers if he was on a bad team,” he said. “But what he is going in winning basketball. I think him and Ben should get more credit.”
Harris is in the midst of the best season of his 10-year career. The 27-year-old averaged a career-highs 20.9 points, 3.3 assists and 0.8 block per game heading into Sunday’s game. He also averaged a career-high tying 7.9 rebounds and shooting 42.7% on three-pointers.
Sacrificing his game, Simmons is averaging a career-low 15.2 points to go with 8.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.7 steals. He’s been a multi-faceted player for the Sixers, lining up at point guard, forward and center. He was voted an All-Star reserve in the past two seasons.