Jeff this article is from April 18.

I think everyone should worry about this after the game.

Gee whillikers, win or lose why can Doc? As has been stated ad nauseum, the problem for the Celtics is they are up against a young, athletic, energetic team. If only the league could have arranged for them to play an aging, clumsy, tired squad, then they wouldn’t be faced with elimination.

What amazes me is that anybody would ever have confidence in Doc Rivers. He has one strength, IMHO. He draws up good plays out of time outs. Everything else he does is below average. As a youth development coach, which I assume he was hired for, he failed miserably. As an Xs and Os coach, he’s never been close to average. He continually throws his players under the bus to the press. This season, he’s been given as close to an idiot-proof roster as a coach could ever dream of having. Unfortunatly, Doc can’t be idiot-proofed. If Wyc and Danny can’t figure that out after getting embarassed at home against Indy, 18 straight losses, and getting outplayed, outcoached, and outhustled by a team who made the playoffs in game 81, they never will.

Unfortunately, win or lose tomorrow, Doc will still be here next year. As long as Doc Rivers is our coach, #17 will be nothing more than a distant fantasy.

The only way i will forgive this incapable coach is that we reach at least the nba finals. It may not be his fault fully cuz we have a talented but without ballz team. But someone has to go.

Think about all the teams that have won the past few years and the kind of players they had. Kobe, Ginobelli, Dwade. Players who have guts and will make it happen.

I can even see soon joe johnson in that list someday.

You just can’t cram three good players and hope they become one of these special players. Nice try ainge

Avery Johnson — fired one year out from winning coach of the year. close enough.

I don’t think doc is a good coach but the bigger problem is that KG does not have a heart to make it happen when the game is on the line. HE DOES NOT WANT THE BALL. We need a coach that can deal with KG and challenge him to take over the game when it counts. ADD that to the list of things doc is not capable of. It made me sick to see him hanging out by the three point line with minutes to go; it was very chris webberish. I think a great coach could help KG turn that corner. We better deal with it because I don’t think KG is going anywhere and unless he becomes unafraid to step up in the crunch time it is hard to envision a celtic championship. I sure hope I am wrong and KG is just getting warmed up after not being in the post season for so long or we always have a fat lead in the closing moments, or we never lose at home. That’s a lot to hope for.

Defeat when it comes will rest squarely on the shoulders of the fans.

For all those lamenting KG’s reluctance to go inside, he’s too old and confirmed in his ways to change. He never has been and never will be a banger.

If Doc gets canned then in all fairness they should can the team as well. He isn’t coaching any worse than they are playing. For all KG’s chest pounding and mean faces he played like a girl last night at the end. He had a 5 foot wide open jumper that he dished off because he was afraid of missing YET AGAIN! It was blatantly obvious the Hawks wanted that game more than we did. Tomorrow I think we will step it up and slide past, but I sure don’t think this is a favorite for the title anymore. Look at what Utah did in their game 6 after letting Houston get back in. Look at Detroit. We are soft and allow the refs to not call things.

Jeff, it seems my comments are too long to post. Is there a way I can submit it as an article?

Also, part of the cost of acquiring KG was installing an aged RA an expensive, long-term sinecure as our 2 guard. Up against the likes of a Joe Johnson we see how this is problematic even in year 1 of the Big 3 Big 3 Years.

I’d like to see Jeff Van Gundy as Doc’s replacement

I’ll try that. I am still getting used to different aspects of the site. Thanks.

Ok, I couldn’t figue out how to post in the forum (don’t laugh). So I am breaking down my comments into smaller parts.

Part 1 of 4

Remember the discussion we had about Kobe a few months ago? I still believe that’s where the problem lies – the Celtics Big Three, especially PP and KG just don’t possess that killer instinct that I admire about Kobe. Let’s explore this some more…

When Kobe was losing in LA he steamed, complained, and publicly demanded a trade if his bosses didn’t put the necessary assets around him to win. The guy just hates losing that much. But then basketball fans and sportswriters labeled Kobe a malcontent. Yet look at the results in LA now. One can attribute the re-emergence of the Lakers as a championship contender single-handedly to Kobe’s leadership and his desire not to tolerate losing, his passion and desire to win. And he pushed management to make changes sooner than they were prepared to do, with astounding results.

Now contrast that with KG who stayed in Minny years after year as they were losing, yet he never complained much. The same sportswriters and fans who jumped on Kobe for publicly bitching praised KG for his LOYALTY. But one has to ask… loyalty to what? If the objective of an NBA team is to win championships, then which version of loyalty would you prefer – Kobe’s loyalty to winning or KG’s loyalty to management?

As for the coaching, Doc has actually done a much better job than I ever thought possible. I believe that he is the kind of coach with that rare set of SOFT SKILLS that the likes of Phil Jackson and Pat Riley possess. He’s not at their level yet, but he’ll certainly get there. Rivers’ greatest assets are not Xs and Os qualities; it’s his philosophical approach to leadership. And as of now, Doc is the best weapon the Celtics have at this time, because he has the ability to motivate this team after such a depressing loss with 3 superstars who’ve never competed consistently at this high a level before.

Part 2 of 4

Don’t forget that Phil Jackson and Pat Riley have also struggled with losing teams these past few years. I doubt that anyone is going to blame their Xs and Os coaching or strategizing as the reason for their non-performance. Instead, the Lakers remarkable turnaround is due more to Kobe rather than any newly discovered Xs and Os insight from Phil Jackson. Kobe single-handedly pushed for the changes in LA and got management to make the necessary trades.

Back in Miami, Pat Riley is still losing because DWade is looking to management for leadership instead of taking matters into his own hands like Kobe.

Meanwhile in Boston, Doc’s skills are underappreciated. No matter how good the coach, he has very little to do with what actually happens on the floor once the game is in motion. He can draw up plays and make the right substitutions, but the players on the floor are the ones who still have to execute.

It seems Rivers has become a victim of his own success. He’s done a good job of getting this team to gel as fast as possible. That of course is being overshadowed by the predicament the Celtics currently find themselves in. Viewing the Celtics re-emergence purely through their regular season success would be misleading. They were not even supposed to win 50 games let alone 67. The long term goal is very much on track given that the team has already overachieved in the regular season.

Part 3 of 4

It may just turn out that the Hawks are the best thing that happened to the Celtics, as Doc can use this series as a lightening rod to motivate this team. There is a psychological barrier that some players on this team have bumped against, specifically PP and KG. PP resorts to destructive antics whenever he’s in pressure situations. KG simply disappears mentally. This is the barrier Doc has to figure out a way to break through for these two to really perform well in the playoffs..

Ray Allen continues to be a balanced player. He’s stepping up where PP and KG are not. What more can you ask of him? If his shot had fallen, the outcome of the game would have been different. I hope fans will not penalize him for stepping up and coming up short because it will send the wrong message to the others not to take unless they can guarantee a positive outcome.

When PP fouled out and got a technical, he made matters worse psychologically for the team. He has to learn to keep his composure at these critical times. A better reaction would have been to pump up his team with a rousing speech like Antoine did in the BOS/NJ playoffs, resulting in what became at the time the largest comeback in playoff history. It is that kind of leadership that is lacking on the Celtics right now.

Part 4 of 4

I saw KGs reaction during the last time out and I was shocked at how subdued he appeared. This is the same guy who, during regular season games, would be diving for lose balls in the 4th quarter; the same guy who’d be cheering for his teammates from the bench during blowouts; the same guy who was pummeling Leon Powe in game 1 which was a blowout. So what happened to all the intensity that KG is known for? It seems The Big Ticket hasn’t figured out how to win The Big Game.

If the Celtics get eliminated tomorrow, I would join the chorus for Doc to be fired, but not because he was a bad coach. Rather because somebody has to pay a price, and the coach happens to be the easily replaceable part of the equation. Ironically, if Doc gets fired, he’d have been a victim of his own rapid success this season. But the reality of why we would have lost would remain long after Doc is gone… This boils down to player leadership. PP and KG should want to ball at critical points in the game and be willing to carry this team if need be. Coach can only do some much.

We need PP to be the team captain and leader that he could be.

55, I’m not asking Garnett to bang. But he needs to stop being a 30 million dollar Peja Stojacovic. Dunk the damned ball when you’re 3 feet from the basket instead of kicking it out.

Also, I’d love to see Garnett act a lot more like Robert Parish and a lot less like a yapping schoolgirl.
He’s getting his arse handed to him by two players who shouldn’t be on the same court.

To all the Doc supporters: How do you explain him sticking with the bench at the start of quarters, in particular the start of the 4th quarter of game 4, as the lead dwindles. You do NOT play a back-to-back in the playoffs so you really do NOT need to watch minutes like Doc does and allow teams to obliterate a solid lead in the first 3 minutes of quarters as you STUBBORNLY stick with a flawed playoff strategy. This series should have been over in 5 and would have except for Doc’s blatant mismanagement of minutes in game 4.

Garnett basically getting beaten up by Zaza last night says it all. He must step up or they will lose tomorrow.

Smitty said:

To all the Doc supporters: How do you explain him sticking with the bench at the start of quarters, in particular the start of the 4th quarter of game 4, as the lead dwindles. You do NOT play a back-to-back in the playoffs so you really do NOT need to watch minutes like Doc does and allow teams to obliterate a solid lead in the first 3 minutes of quarters as you STUBBORNLY stick with a flawed playoff strategy. This series should have been over in 5 and would have except for Doc’s blatant mismanagement of minutes in game 4.

I personally don’t consider myself a Doc supporter, but I don’t blame him for the state the Celtics find themselves, because IMO, the problem lies elsewhere.

Here’s the problem with your beef… it lacks proper context. By the way, I assuming you’re referring to game 6 instead of game 4? (correct me if I’m wrong). Regardless, why do we have bench players if they can’t be used when they are needed? Have we not got the necessary production from these same players in the games we won?

Doc is damn if he plays whom he plays, and damned if he doesn’t.

Doc isn’t a perfect coach, but …

He didn’t totally melt down under pressure last night like Rondo did.

He isn’t the veteran perimeter shooter who launched a horrific three at the end of the game.

He isn’t the captain, whose lack of poise when he fouled out changed the dynamic of the end game.

He isn’t the team’s two bigs, who simply refuse to consistently defend the rim.

Doc Rivers has been part of the problem, I agree – the opening fourth quarter lineup was inexcusable.

But there are quite a few players in green who need to step up alongside him in the blame game.

I have to tell you, I watched Rondo last night and said to myself flatly, “This kid is too immature to run a championship team.”

He won’t be fired and they will win tomorrow. Then they will beat Cleveland and Detroit or Orlando. So, let’s stop hyperreacting and get with the program. These are our Celtics out there. They did not come this far to lose.

I saw KGs reaction during the last time out and I was shocked at how subdued he appeared. This is the same guy who, during regular season games, would be diving for lose balls in the 4th quarter; the same guy who’d be cheering for his teammates from the bench during blowouts; the same guy who was pummeling Leon Powe in game 1 which was a blowout. So what happened to all the intensity that KG is known for? It seems The Big Ticket hasn’t figured out how to win The Big Game.

He’s had that look on his face on just about every timeout near the end of the game during the trips to Atlanta.

It’s not just us picking up on it, every single one of his teammates is seeing and feeling that a heck of a lot more.

First of all, Souza’s offers a poor premise when he states the Celtics have “arguably the most talent of any roster in the league.” Detroit in the East and several teams in the West have equal or better talent up and down the rosters. A strong regular season doesn’t mean much if you can’t kick it up a notch (see Dallas 2007).

Doc has said all along the team hasn’t yet proven it can win anything in the playoffs, unlike other teams that have consistently played in the post-season for the past 5-10 years.

It’s clear that Rivers has had the support of his players all season long and still does. That he gets them to play hard is the number one thing to expect from a head coach.

Strategies fail or succeed depending upon many variables. The idea that the team could win a title if Rivers wasn’t coaching them is silly. By that reasoning, they should consider canning Tom Thibodeau because of the many defensive lapses against the Hawks.

i am surprised we haven’t heard from brick who is showing remarkable restraint on this doc matter. if nthe c’s lose, i am sure he will give us an expert analysis of doc’s ineptitude and more than likely. i will agree. too much free time and relaxing at the end of the season and diddling around did not get this veteran team hungry enough.