Dave Joerger's Absence Gave Doc Rivers, Sixers Dose of Reality

Back in November, the Philadelphia 76ers fired up a six-game road trip beginning with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers on November 13. Following the 118-113 loss to the Pacers, the Sixers released an official statement with shocking news attached.

Dave Joerger, one of Doc Rivers' top assistants, was stepping away from coaching momentarily to undergo cancer treatment.

"I will be stepping away from the bench, effective immediately, as I was recently diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer," Joerger wrote in his official statement. "I will take this time to focus on my health, and I look forward to re-joining the team once I've completed the treatment process."

For the rest of November and all of December and January, Joerger remained away from the team. While he kept in contact with Doc Rivers, the Sixers head coach couldn't guess when Joerger would be back.

Fortunately, the assistant coach is feeling better and back with the team. Earlier this week, as the Sixers prepared for their matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, it was reported that Joerger was with the team during their shootaround on Monday morning. And a few hours before the Sixers tipped off against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, the Sixers announced Joerger is officially back with the team.

Joerger's Statement

“Words can’t describe how grateful I am to be back around this basketball team. The last several months have been some of the most challenging of my life, but I am so lucky to have the support of Josh Harris, David Blitzer, Doc Rivers, Daryl Morey, Elton Brand and the entire 76ers organization. Their support, along with my wife Kimberly, and my loving family, has been unwavering. Lastly, I may not be here today if it weren’t for the incredible medical team at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. For now, I’m energized by the trajectory of this 76ers team and am looking forward to helping our group reach the ultimate goal of an NBA championship."

Before the Sixers tipped off against the Wizards, Doc Rivers expressed his excitement for Joerger not only because he's back to help to coach with the team but because the Sixers assistant is generally doing well after a tough battle.

"He's gone through a lot, like, far more than anyone knows," Rivers said on Wednesday night. "The fact that he's coaching this year is a miracle. I'd say four weeks ago, there was no way he was going to be coaching this year. And the fact that he's doing it is just really good, great. It was good to have him. There was a period when literally, he couldn't communicate. I mean, I'm telling you, he was struggling for a while and, like, literally couldn't communicate. So that was tough. He would write me emails, but the fact that he couldn't use his voice was very difficult."

While Rivers assumed there might be a chance Joerger wouldn't be able to re-join the Sixers as early as this year, the team announced that he'd be back on the Sixers' bench full-time moving forward, beginning on Wednesday. 

"This team likes each other, and he's part of that team, that group," Rivers continued. "For all our young guys, I always think things like this, obviously, you don't want them to ever happen, but it just did give them a dose of reality like we still are living in a real world. Not in the bubble of the NBA."

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.