Celtics: Competition Clutch Mindset
by Tom Halzack on Sep 16, 2009 10:47 AM EDT
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintPerhaps it is a good time to refocus on the main thing and the main players.
Call this my ‘Why I like This Team’ piece.
Call it my counterpoint piece to 'the questions with Doc and team I delved into' in my last piece.
Cal it my Doc as Racing Pit Manager sequel.
The Celtics had the best starting five in the NBA. Now they have the best six.
Besides the obvious, that the first six are as talented as any six in the league, what I like about this team is its meat grinder mindset. They come ready to rumble. Occasionally last season, that wasn’t true. While the lapses in competitive attitude were few, a true, re-focus on core things was needed at times.
The only way I can really put it, is not all that clever. A combined fearful mass of ridiculously competitive, highly clutch players are gathered on one team. They play a team game, and don’t care who leads them to victory. They are gamers. They will play hurt. They don’t give up.
A Flock of C-gos
Kevin Garnett is the posterboy for ‘off the charts’ pedal-to-the-metal aggression. He makes sure the rest of the team is right there with him. Defensively, he leads. Offensively, no other NBA team has a better third option. Kevin McHale said it last season. "You guys got Kevin right. We wanted him to be the main scorer. He is a facilitator." KG facilitates, supports, and scores like few can.
Paul Pierce is the roving one man assault force, pressure tested, certified, and found approved. He also looks to get others involved. By my own observation, in his own way, he has become a steadying personality.
Ray Allen is the obsessively prepared sniper in the bell tower. He follows the rhythm of the game. Watching things unfold, running to the open spot to avert a shot clock emergency. He breaks opponents’ hearts with those ‘last second on the shot clock’ bombs. He cashes in those last minute free throws like dropping nickels in a gum ball machine. To be feared at the end of games.
Rajon Rondo shares the obsessive mindset. Very confident. Needs the challenge to stay focused. Asserting himself more now. All Star under construction.
Kendrick Perkins has (not so) quietly become a defensive back bone himself. Stepped it up after KG went down. Some of those help blocks (over his own his team mates) last season were just incredible. Who opened eyes with a great job on Dwight Howard? Kendrick Perkins. Hard hat. Man at work.
Enter Rasheed
Now Rasheed Wallace, almost as intense as Garnett, is part of the equation. The perfect support for Garnett and Perkins. Conference finals in 7 of 10 years. Unlike last season, there is not a chance in the world that he won’t be bringing his ‘A’ game this year.
They all have that street game mentality you need to go far in the playoffs. Danny has selected players over the years like Gabe Pruitt, Patrick O’Bryant, and Jiri Welsch to name a few with less competitive mindsets. But this group is just mentally tough.
Competition Clutch
While any reader will get the obvious meaning in the headline, gear heads out there will get the double entendre.
Competition clutches on race cars increase torque by massive amounts (150-300%). So much so, that you need to design the assemblies so that they ease the transfer of the highly increased power for smoother take offs. They add more strength, but put more stress on the entire car.
This team already had a 'competition clutch' mindset. Now even more torque has just been added. What team has a more formidable, tightly focused group of stars? Now Danny has added Wallace to turbo charge the engine and Marquis Daniels to plug some holes in the tires.
Doc and the Mechanics
Who better than Doc Rivers, as pit crew captain, to make the ‘in race’ adjustments? Few, perhaps none, in the league are better at people management. He has his work cut out for him this season more than ever. He is in his third year with this unit – now with some important new parts.
That is usually when a number of coaches begin to lose their luster. From Doc Rivers, the basketball player, in his own book back in 1993, For Those Who Love the Game...
"players can be conned in the short term, but a coach who dupes players won’t have long term success. We find out if a coach is conning us, or manipulating us, or lying to us, and when we catch on, that team is going down…..a team will have a big year under a new coach, maybe two – and then after the next year, bang, they flop."
Tom Thibodeau can help with his courtside exhortations and behind the scenes defensive acumen. Armond Hill can contribute his calm demeanor and offensive inspiration. Ditto Kevin Eastman with the smalls and Clifford Ray with the bigs.
But the man steering the ship, or making sure the car is ready to go for every race is Papa Doc Rivers. This ‘papa’ Doc is a family man by choice and intentional priority. Authenticity is part of the mix.
Rivers in his book…
"To be a great coach a person must attain two things: respect from the players, and trust from the players.
Trust is the most important. The players must trust you. If they do, the respect will follow. By trust, I mean that the players must feel you believe in what you are trying to sell them. You must be committed to the things you say you are committed to – there can be no hidden agendas."
Doc Rivers sold them the unique ‘ubuntu’ theme for two years now. He obviously believes in it. Will ubuntu and Doc Rivers always be tied together? Or will Doc look for a new way to motivate his charges?
What makes a great coach?
Rivers in 1993…."I don’t know what makes a great coach…there is not one way or one style to success. Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, Phil Jackson all do it their own personal way – they are all original, and maybe that is an ingredient of success: being yourself.
If anyone doubted that this team trusts and respects Doc Rivers, just refer him to last year’s run, including the playoffs. They gave it all they had.
Doc determined, quite a while ago, his core principles of coaching. Treating players with respect is a big part of it. Part of it is just …..being himself.
Is Doc like any other coach? There is definitely something unique about Doc to me. Is he another NBA original to you? Would another title this season convince you?
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one worry
injuries are our only fear…the older you get the more prone to injury…the older you get the more injuries affect performance….the older you get the harder it is to recover from injuries…we’ve got talent,experience,size,depth,money/contracts for additions…we’re set but we gotta stay healthy…HUGE but
Thanks guys, I appreciate all this off-season verbiage...
…but I’m really missing those Shira Springer off-season puff pieces.
Where was the in-depth story on KG doing rehab? The sweating-it-off stories about Baby and Scal? The post-honeymoon Perk report?
Next year I want all the celticsblog writers assigned a player for that great off-season visit and interview.
We’ll take that under consideration. Why don’t you ask Perk about his honeymoon.
When Perk was asked what he thought of Howard winning the gold medal this summer, he responded: "What’s his impression of me after I won a ring?"
the lack of Springer puff pieces...
indicates just how hard times are for the newspapers
eventually, the best blogs will have their own full time beat reporters – especially if newspapers continue downward
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V
"eventually, the best blogs will have their own full time beat reporters"
Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! I’ll do it!! I’ll do it!!
:)
Excellent Article
Just referring to Doc, you mention his “people management” skills and I, too, use this term when referring to Doc. I think, though, that this is probably not the best term to describe this skill. The term used denotes people manipulation. I don’t think Doc does this because that denotes some degree of dishonesty which is certainly not what Doc is about. I think a better term is his understanding of people, especially people who play basketball. Doc has often mentioned how he feels his players may get tired of hearing his voice. Thus he has his assistants manage much of the practices. He has mentioned, when a player has come to him seeking advice that he needs to be careful not to give him too much to think about. And I think a great example of Doc’s UNDERSTANDING of his players occurred after game 5 of the 2008 finals when KG did not play well at the end of the game and was very down on himself. Doc worried that KG might get too hyped for the next game and planned to speak to him. But instead, he had one of the assistants sneak a look at KG in the locker room and give Doc his impression of KG’s mood. The assistant said KG looked fine and Doc never did speak to him. Doc understands which players to push and which to leave alone. In a way he treats them all alike, but he also treats them as individuals. They call him a “player’s coach”, but he is not ruled by his players. He is their friend, and to some a mentor, but he is also careful to keep his distance. It’s a fine line he walks, but he does it better than most. He refers alot to coach Popovich who is probably quite similar to Doc in the way he interacts with his players.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
well put TG.
Yeah, the phrase ‘people skills’ is one of those tired and well used phrases. "management’ is a bit cold, I agree.
Doc has that blend of intention, yet seems natural. He rarely seems contrived, even when he is being so. The main thing about his personality that is rarely mentioned (and I didn’t mention it in the article either – I wanted to keep the length down) is underneath his lighthearted exterior is his sense of dignity and respect.
And after out coaching Phil Jackson two years ago, I learned that Doc knows himself and is very comfortable in his own skin. That was a watershed moment in Doc’s career, IMO.
Excellent example about KG, and how Doc works.
A couple of things
Tenacious T – If you get a call soon from Papa Doc Rivers regarding him not wanting to be referred to as Papa Doc remember those history lessons about the reason Doc Rivers make take offense…….Papa Doc (also known as Francois Duvalier – the oppresive ruler of Haiti from 1957-1971
Duvalier used both political murder and expulsion to suppress his opponents; estimates of those killed are as high as 30,000. yikes…..I enjoyed the quotes from Doc …thanks for those and the article.
CLOVER- my message to you is this…..you send money, plane tickets, confirmed hotel reservations and a limo to pick me up at the airport and I will glad to come to Boston to interview anyone you want…….but it will be an expensive PUFF PIECE for you. ;-)
Is it Soup Yet?
Jeez, Po, wouldn't a day or two of sit-down interviews be worth a little summer holiday travel?
And don’t we have some celticsbloggers based in Vegas, LA, FL, etc. already?
And where's Wyc when we need him?
Considering that Peter Stringer writes for celtics.com, couldn’t we get the C’s to underwrite some grants for Stringer’s Stringers?
PO interviewed Bill Russell for CelticsBlog
game. set. match.
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V
Ha! And he outpuffed Shira in the process!
I’d like more, Po seems to have retired his interviewer’s mic too soon…
BTW, Jeff, this would have been a sorry month without celticsblog indeed...
I’m not complaining about the cooking, just encouraging larger servings for the future!
Send me to Las Vegas Clover!!!!
I could interview someone at the Texas Hold-em tables…….
Is it Soup Yet?
Vegas should be self-funding...
…the casinos will put you up free and you can win your airfare while you’re there!
PO- verized.
you caught that, eh?
I actually had made mentioned of the original Papa Doc and then took it out to reduce the word count. It wasn’t that relevent to the story.
Don’t forget ‘Baby Doc’ either. The dictator’s son. I was thinking of word playing that with Glen Davis. I guess you can see why I didn’t. lol.
Baby Doc went to hide in France I think
Hopefully Big Baby Davs won’t hide behind his new contract like Mark " Ivan The Terrible" Blunt
Is it Soup Yet?
I'm a believer in Davis.
It will be tough for him to take a step forward this season with reduced time. It will depend largely on what Doc asks from him, as well. Maybe the reduced time will be a positive. We will see.
If he is just supposed to stand in an open spot waiting for a pass, his numbers won’t look so good.
Like everyone, I’d like to see more board work and a bit better position D and rotation D on the forwards from Glen. There is little doubt in my mind his potential is higher than many think is.
No chance Sheed won't bring his A game?
I’d say the chances are pretty good that Sheed doesn’t have an A game to bring anymore. Obviously I hope I’m wrong, but the track record for over-35 seven footers is not very good.
How about' A' for effort then?
Which is what i really meant.
No doubt he isn’t what he was even a few years ago.
My wife says I’m not either.
Best 6 in the league?
Oh how I beg to differ. The San Antonio Spurs might have something to say about that. Tony Parker- French stud. Ginobili- Argentinian stud. Richard Jefferson- more athletic than Pierce or Allen. Tim Duncan – dubbed the best PF of all time. Antonio McDyess – solid and can take on Perkins and Rasheed. Michael Finley- Can still shoot and provide a spark. George Hill- up and coming PG to back up Parker. DeJuan Blair – Even though he’s a rookie, he bangs down low. Matt Bonner – equal to Scalabrine.
And don’t even get me started on how the Lakers are better.
Derek Fisher – yea he’s old, but so are the rest of the people you mentioned except for Rondo. He shoots over 90% from the freethrow line and knows the Triangle better than everyone except Kobe.
Kobe Bryant – best player in the game
Ron Artest- can easily shut down Pierce when motivated
Pau Gasol – guard-like abilities in a 7 foot frame. He can facilitate just as good, if not better, than Garnett. Plus, he learned how to play tough last year
Bynum – Can take on Perkins no problem. He’ll be fine
Lamar Odom – easily the most versatile player in the game. He’s younger than Rasheed so he can keep up with him with not too much effort.
Phil Jackson- 10 championships….enough said.
Funny how the Celtic fans always rely on the “tough-minded”, “bang-down-low”, “meat grinder” argument. That’s blue collar arrogance.
That was thoroughly enjoyable.
French Stud! Argentinian Stud! Those are the most compelling arguments I’ve ever read.
The blue collar arrogance line is a bit much, as you’re taking a swipe at Celtic fans. You’re welcome to debate here, but don’t start that kind of an argument or you will no be welcome for very long.
When Perk was asked what he thought of Howard winning the gold medal this summer, he responded: "What’s his impression of me after I won a ring?"
agree
please feel free to discuss what you like but please don’t devalue the debate with useless insults
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V
You actually touched on another piece I'll be doing
Each of the new superteams each have flaws, including the two you name.
The toughest minded guy on the Lakers is Kobe. Now you can add Artest, But he brings his own challenges. None of the rest compare in the toughness of mind category.
It is a Celtic advantage, IMO.
No doubt all three teams will be in the conversation of ‘who is the best’ at the end of year.
Thanks for reading and your own thoughts. This debate will go on all season, I’m sure
Seriously....
Fisher has lost so many steps that Farmar is better than he is…. and Farmar is terrible. Rondo can and will run rings around Fisher. Their only shot is to have Kobe guard Rondo which means Allen will get to abuse Fisher. Either way, he is a liability. Furthermore, just because he “knows the Triangle better than everyone except Kobe” means absolutely nothing if you can’t perform.
Ron Artest “easliy” shutting down Pierce is hilarious. On a good day he might contain Pierce…maybe. Look up Pierce vs. Artest on youtube and you will find examples of Pierce abusing Artest. Also, look up the avg stats over the last couple of years and you will find that Pierce is slightly above his season averages when head to head against Artest…that is not shutting him down.
Kobe is a great player. I will give you that.
Pau Gasol is still soft. He is a talented player though…..and he just got shut down by Semih Erden…hmmm
Bynum has yet to prove any kind of consistency (other than getting hurt) and appeared to be a bust in the playoffs. Don’t give me the “just back from his injury” stuff either. I seem to recall so many Laker fans proclaiming Bynum was “Back” in the last few games of the season (avg. about 20 ppg) and then the excuses starting up for his poor performance in the playoffs (6.3 ppg)….so which is it? Is he back from his injury or not? Perkins has improved every season and will terrorize Bynum when they meet.
The words “not too much effort” definately apply to Lamar Odom. He just got his contract. The Lakers will be lucky to get any kind of consistent, decent effort out of the guy. Which Lamar will show up????
Yeah, yeah, Phil has 10 Championships…but Doc has outcoached him before…….
The only improvement LA made was signing Artest…and that is only a slight improvement over Ariza…and a risky gamble at that.
Boston got a whole lot better and a whole lot deeper. Our second unit is better than some teams 1st unit…can you say that about LA? I think not.
Sorry so long, just got a little fired up.
So, so much to disagree with here
I’ll try to keep it concise.
Farmar is not terrible. This time last year, people (outside the Laker fan base, mind you) were talking about Farmar as a legit starting point guard for the future in the NBA. Not a star, not on Rondo’s level, but a very decent player. He had a terrible year, but began to show glimpses of his formerly strong play in the playoffs. Further, if Farmar continues to struggle, he won’t even be the 1st guard off the bench because Shannon Brown showed some real signs of being a good contributer as well. My bet is that at least one of those two guys has a strong season and will begin to take away Fisher’s minutes (without taking the starting role).
Any Laker fan saying Bynum was going to instantly be back after injury was foolish to say so. His struggles in the playoffs were not surprising at all. He’s a very young player who had never expereinced playoff intensity basketball, and would have struggled a bit to catch up even if he hadn’t just come back from injury. He also got an extremely short leash from PJ, and the refs gave him the true “rookie” treatment. He’s lightyears ahead of Perkins on offense (as Perkins is lightyears ahead of Bynum on defense) and to call that matchup heavily in either player’s favor seems unrealistic to me. Bynum definitely has more upside.
Gasol did just fine against Dwight Howard in the Finals … that’s a pretty physical player. He’ll have to prove it against Boston too, but he’s shown signs he can deal with physicality.
And lastly, improvement. Boston did improve by adding a bunch of new pieces without losing much. And the Lakers did not improve by keeping the same roster basically intact (Artest and Ariza aside). But that does not tell the whole story.
Boston is a team filled with veteran players, many of whom are on the wrong side of their careers. Your assumption that Boston has upgraded its roster does not take into account the possibility that quite a few players on that team could begin to lose a step, as Fisher has done so dramatically already. And you know what, I’ll give you that assumption.
The Lakers, by contrast, are a team filled with young players. Fisher is already deteriorating rapidly, but the only other player with which that might be an issue is Kobe, and he’s still younger than half your team. Everyone else is either right in the prime of their careers, or on the upside. You are assuming the Lakers won’t be better simply by getting their young players more experience, and that is what I take issue with. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that Farmar, Brown, and Bynum all improve their production over last year, simply by continuing to grow as NBA players. Just look at how much Rondo has improved the last couple of years.
And as for depth, we don’t have a true 10 man rotation, but if you allow Bynum to be included, our 2nd unit of Odom, Bynum, Walton, Farmar, Brown looks pretty damn solid to me. Bynum and Odom on the 2nd unit alone would make it stronger than a few team’s 1st squad.
Sorry, I failed on the concisenss.
How can one interview Bill Russell
and not end up with a puff piece? Maybe PO should have relentlessly questioned Bil Russell about losing in the Finals in 1958? Or in the ECF in ’67? Only 11 championships in 13 years, you bum?
Interviewer: Mr. Russell, you averaged 15 points and an incredible 22.5 rebounds per game over your career, but how come you averaged ZERO blocks?
Russell: Son, they didn’t keep block statistics back then.
Interviewer: Oh.
The only thing I would have liked to have seen PO question Russ about was his great turn as The Black Shadow in a Saturday Night Live skit. That was some of Russell’s best work, as a retired African American basketball player coaching in an upscale, all white HS, where the players kept him out of trouble. Funny stuff.
Ha! Ha!
Thanks Nick.
I’m a product of the ’60s when a lot of kids got into cars big time. The engines were much simpler then. No computers on board. I guess kids still get into machinery after Fast and Furious.
At one point, I thought I might want to be a mechanic. My parents said, “You’re going to college.”
College it was. Never lost the love for a finely tuned piece of head snapping machinery, though.
Last year? Was Sheed a Celtic last year? I am going to give him the benefit and wait to see how he plays this year, with this organization. Bet he will be amazing!
by thirstyboots18 on Sep 16, 2009 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I did.
oops, that wasn’t supposed to post.
I’m counting on a return to Rasheed caring. If Wallace cares, he will bring plenty to the table.
I’m not defending his season last year, or the potential other issues that follow him around.
I’ve always liked him in spite of himself. Now I get to root for him, too.
Sheed
This is a new season and Sheed needed a change of scenery. He couldn’t come to anything more beautiful than New England in the fall. Last year alot was going on in Detroit-the Iverson trade killed the team and any inspiration it would have. Sheed knows how to play the game and the Celtics are a perfect fit for him. Last year means nothing in Sheed’s case. If it were Iverson I’d think differently.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
Well done, T
I know I am going to enjoy all your stuff….keep it coming!
by thirstyboots18 on Sep 16, 2009 12:47 PM EDT reply actions
Go tT
Nice warm up article to what will be a great season for the Celtics. Look for the bench to fight to get their court time and that will certainly feed into the competition perspective where Big Baby, Marquis, House, Scal and TAllen and BWalker all want to get their court time. They earn it if they can increase the lead, and Doc can save our aged stars for when it matters.
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