Report: Doc Rivers encouraged James Harden to go to Las Vegas before Celtics series
"‘So what? Do it.’ Dennis Rodman went to Vegas."
There was a point in Doc Rivers’ coaching career when he would have overreacted to the phone call he got from James Harden about a trip to Las Vegas in between the Sixers’ playoff matchups with Brooklyn and Boston.
But, not this version of Rivers. The 61-year-old coach encouraged Harden to go, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports.
“It’s funny,” Rivers said. “James called me before he went, and I was like, ‘So what? Do it.’ Dennis Rodman went to Vegas. They asked me about it, and I said, ‘We had three days off.’ I told them to do whatever they want. He’s a grown man. I didn’t care.”
Harden turned in a grown-man performance on Monday night, posting a playoff career-high 45 points in a 119-115 road win over the Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Rivers said he drew inspiration from “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls.
In it, Michael Jordan describes the time when Dennis Rodman told him that he needed a vacation during the season. Coach Phil Jackson asked if Rodman could limit his vacation to 48 hours before ultimately approving the trip.
Bulls guard Steve Kerr, who is now head coach of the Golden State Warriors, said that in order to get the most out of Rodman’s on-court performance, Jordan and Jackson had to give Rodman some “rope.”
Rivers tried a similar approach with Harden. According to Bullpett, Harden was seen on camera slapping a member of his group during the Vegas trip. But, he delivered in Game 1 during the biggest moments.
“Just years of coaching adults and watching ‘The Last Dance,’ all that stuff doesn’t seem as big,” Rivers said. “You just get older and more experienced, man. And you know what I’ve learned? Some guys are who they are. Let ’em be that.”
Rivers, who was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1983, is now in his 24th season as an NBA coach. He said he’s learned over the years not to sweat the small stuff. He said that coaching is different for him now that he’s not as wound up about what other people think.
“It IS like that for me now,” Rivers said. “Actually I say it all the time, ‘F*** it. The f*** with everybody.’ We’re good, I’m good. I love what I do, and I know that I’m good at it. And let’s keep doing it, you know?”
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