by Marcel Mutoni / @ marcel_mutoni
The Philadelphia Sixers lost at home last night to the Orlando Magic, 98-84. It was their sixth consecutive loss, and head coach Doug Collins blasted his players when chatting with reporters following the game.
The season’s mounting frustrations—Andrew Bynum’s injury, the losing which has the Sixers five games out of a Playoff spot, the team’s perceived lack of effort, fan anger and criticism, etc.—led to Collins’ complete meltdown.
Per NBA.com:
First, he called the game “mind-numbing.” Then, he used a Pat Summit story to say that a coach can’t control energy and effort, and gave the reporters in the room a look that said, “See what I’m saying here?” Collins also brought up his own effort as a Sixers player for comparison. “I gave my body to this franchise,” he said. “I was never booed as a player. Never. I ran through my sneakers.”
And there were more obvious criticisms of his players … “I did not think our guys prepared themselves during the [All-Star] break to come back to play.” More of the I’m-doing-everything-I-can talk … “If everybody looked inside themselves as much as I did, this world would be a CAT scan. OK? Believe me, there’s not two days go by that I don’t go to Rod [Thorn], I don’t go to Tony [DiLeo], ‘What can I do? Can I do anything different? How can I be a better coach? How can I be a better leader? How can I help these guys?’ “Sometimes, you’ve got to help yourself, you know? Sometimes you’ve got to help yourself. Youth is a very blaming thing. My job is to not put that kind of product on the floor. I’m incredibly hard on myself. I love it when the fans start yelling at me. I’m not playing. You didn’t yell at me when I played. Why are you yelling at me when I’m coaching?”
You really should watch the whole thing; it’s fascinating, depressing and totally Doug Collins-esque.
The Philadelphia Sixers (22-33) were supposed to be a much better team than we have seen, but injuries, inept play and poor coaching have derailed their season.
With 27 games to go, their bench boss appears to have already thrown in the towel while throwing everyone under the bus. Not a good sign.
