Doc Rivers -- Is Adam Silver a Better Commish Than Roger Goodell?

Doc Rivers is no stranger to national controversy (see: Donald Sterling) ... so the question we had to ask -- could NBA Commissioner Adam Silver have handled the Ray Rice situation better than Roger Goodell?

Of course, Silver was hailed as a hero for his swift and thorough handling of the Sterling scandal -- when he sent a team of NBA investigators to L.A. ... who quickly gathered facts and independently verified the authenticity of the Sterling recordings.

On the other hand, Goodell is being accused of bungling the Rice case -- after admitting he screwed up on Ray's initial punishment and claiming he was never able to get his hands on the elevator security footage.